Microsoft Excel- An Introduction

This past week I have been busy introducing folks to spreadsheets.  Specifically Microsoft Excel 2003 version.

Since spreadsheets have many uses from counting money to charting highs and lows and taking inventory, I thought you might like this little overview of Excel.

Once you know a little about Excel- watch as I explain how you can grab a package of multi colored candy and practice your spreadsheet skills!

Now that you know more about Excel- try listing five of your favorite burgers from McDonalds.  Go to www.mcdonalds.com and look up the calories in each burger under the FOOD, Nutrition section.

 (Please note that it will be a pdf file which mean you need Adobe Reader)

Graph your results using the Chart Wizard in the toolbar just as you saw me do in the video!

Want another fun assignment?  Take a handful of Fruit Loops or Trail Mix.  Count and sort according to color and graph them!

Spreadsheets can be real fun!

Live Web Cameras

Daily lessons that are meant for adults and older students are posted during the school year and then ocassionally throughout the summer months.  If you would like to get these lessons delivered to your in box, please leave me your email address using the form on the right or sign up to follow me using RSS.  As always, I appreciate your comments.   

Spring is Here!

I always think of Spring as the time for bird babies, wild animals being born, and bears coming out of hibernation!  Thanks to live web cameras, I can see the action first hand including straight from the bird's nest.

Try out this camera to get a sense of what a live camera allows you to see!  As of April, there were three baby eagles in the nest and both male and female eagles co-parent.

Try this Eagle Cam out of Norfolk, VA!

Live web cameras are most fun when indivduals have placed them in locations such as outside looking at bird feeders, inside a chicken coop,  in local dog pounds, in a goat pen , puppies (with sound) and even watching the family dog at the kennel  There are companies and zoos that also share great web cameras.  Almost any vacation destination has a web cam and the same is true for most larger zoos.

There are other cameras that are great year round, not just baby bird season.  Try my favorite streaming chicken camera (with sound) where you can actually feed the chickens dry corn every 10 minutes!

A web camera such as the one in the below picture can be used to send video streaming throught the Internet for others to watch.  Using a website like Justin TV and an inexpensive camera, you could post your own live camera! 

They can be simple and upload a picture every few seconds or they can be a little more expensive and "stream" the video to the Internet.   Most of my favorite cams are streaming.  Only a few have sound!

And the National Zoo in DC has so many live cams!  Give them a try.  A virtual field trip to the zoo.

There are so many live animal cams out there!  Have some fun today and

 look up LIVE ANIMAL CAMERAS or LIVE ANIMAL CAM in google.

A word of caution:  Not all live cams are appropriate for children. Always provide supervision when using google.   Even when supervising please make such to preface your search terms with an animal name such as:
horse cam  or horse live cam
chicken cam
dog cam
puppy cam

You might be inspired to have a live camera at your own home or farm.  If you run into a good one, please come back and share it with me!