Developer's Guide to Excelets:

Dynamic and Interactive Visualization with "Javaless" Applets

or Interactive Excel Spreadsheets
 

Examples of Excelets Instructions Mathematical Modeling Assessment Chemical Excelets MatSci Excelets


Excelets are interactive Excel spreadsheets or simulations of mathematical models.  The user changes a variable and the spreadsheet changes in numerical, graphical, and/or even symbolic form (equations).  Through the use of numerical experimentation and "what if" scenarios, we have a powerful learning tool for students using readily available off-the-shelf software.  All of this is done computationally with no use of programming, no macros or Visual Basics for Applications, VBA.  The use of VBA adds another level of sophistication via programming and also possible security concerns.  An Excelet with or without VBA resembles a "Javaless" applet.  It is assumed that users of this guide are experienced with the use of Excel.  If you need to gain this experience, see Using Excel for Handling, Graphing, and Analyzing Scientific Data:  A Resource for Science and Mathematics Students to get started.

 

Here are some examples of Excelets in chemistry and mathematics (For best results - right click and then select Save Target As... to download, then open directly in Excel) :

 

interactive features tour fractions derivatives
flipping pennies box-and-whisker plot
(using drag-and-drop of data points)		 M&M's counting
("just add data", How does your bag compare?)
descriptive statistics
("just add data", visual display of variation)		 calorie calculator
(list box and lookup table, "just add data")		 temperature scales
(deriving conversions and inverse functions) 
Eo vs. EN
(data culling using autofilters)		 potential energy diagram
(using drag-and-drop of data points)		 interactive periodic trends
(lots of features for changing graphs)
counting coins
(coin equivalency, summation, and making change)		 area and perimeter
(comparison for a square and rectangle)		 The Acceleration Due to Gravity
Playing the Genetic Odds!
(random numbers, sample size, and error)		 P-V-T Surface Plot
(a 3-D surface plot)		 Pan Water Cycle
(systems model)
Area of a ring
(concentric circles and setting areas)		 Orbital Motion
(circular and elliptical motion and trig functions)		 Blackbody Radiation
(linear and logarithmic scales)
Exploring the Family of Quadratic Functions Earthquake Seismogram
(p and s waves with distance-time)		 radioactive decay (activity)
ideal gas law (activity)    

 

For more Excelets in general chemistry, see the Chemical Excelets page and for materials science, see the MatSci Excelets page.

 

How do I get started developing Excelets?

The basics of developing interactive computational Excel spreadsheets are described in An Interactive Higher-Order Thinking Tool, which includes an Excel tutorial to get you started.  For step-by-step instructions to get started with two Excelets, see Interactive Excel Spreadsheets:  Constructing Visualization Tools to Enhance Your Learner-centered Math and Science Classroom.  Here are two excellent websites for Excelets:

 

   The Excelets Page             Interactive MS Excel Workbooks and instructions

 

Listed below are a series of links to pdf files that describe a variety of useful things needed to develop Excelets.  Numerous screen shots are included with the instructions.  The forms toolbar tools are used because they operate on both PC and Mac platforms. 

 

To get the Forms Toolbar
For Excel 2007 - click here		 Loading the Analysis ToolPak Using the Insert Function capability
To insert a comment box How to add the interactive point for interpolation Setting the scale on a graph
To use the data validation capability Using the RANDBETWEEN function How to add a tangent line on a function
To set the Conditional Formatting Using the Protect Sheet capability Turning a set of data on-off on a graph
Drag-and-drop of data points  Using Error Bars in a Creative Fashion  Data Culling with Autofilters
Check Box or Option Button from the Forms Toolbar Using the List Box from the Forms Toolbar Using the Vertical Lookup Table Function
Analysis ToolPak Troubleshooting Guide Decimals and Negative Values for Spinners and Scroll Bars Making Decisions using the Logical Functions
Cell References Developing a Systems Model Excelet
(Pan Water Cycle includes naming variables)		 Zoom Square and Zoom Out (Excel)
(automatic square grid for data and a manual zoom out method for graphs)
Formula Auditing Tools as an Instructional Tool in Building Excelets    

Viewing spreadsheets containing macros requires a change in security - click here for instructions.

A major use of Excelets is to support mathematical modeling in the sciences.

Mathematical Modeling of Data -  Support materials
Getting started with your first model from experimental data:  Investigating the Height of a Stack of Cookies* ("Just add data" Excel)  Investigating the Height of a Stack of Cookies Activity** (pdf )
Scatter of Data (Excel) Best-fit Straight Line*** (Excel) Types of Error (Excel)
Scatter of Data Activity (pdf) Interpolation and Extrapolation**** (Excel) Types of Error Activity (pdf)
Comparing Mathematical Models and Experimental Error (Excel) Comparison of Limited and Unlimited Population Growth (Excel) Developing Systems Models in an Excel Spreadsheet (Excel)
Exploring Measurement Error with Cookies (Excel) Exploring Cyclic Data in Nature (Excel) Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide over Time (Excel)
Using Excel’s Solver to minimize the SSE for a mathematical model (pdf) Non-linear Regressions by Using the Solver ("Just Add Data" Excel) Paradise Lost: Chesapeake Bay and Sea Level Change (Excel)

*http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/25383             **http://mathforum.org/mathtools/activity/25384  ***http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/20618        ****http://mathforum.org/mathtools/tool/22405

High School Teacher-developed Excelets as part of Computation and Science for Teachers (CAST) Workshop held at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, in Pittsburgh, PA:

CAST 2006 participants            CAST 2007 participants            Computational Resources

An excellent source of information on spreadsheets in all disciplines is Spreadsheets in Education (eJSiE).

Excel resources for mathematics and the sciences - click here for a pdf file with hot links (11/07 version).

Please e-mail any corrections, modifications, suggestions, or questions.

Scott A. Sinex        Prince George’s Community College        6/2008