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<title>Spreadsheets in Education (eJSiE)</title>
<copyright>Copyright (c) 2010 Bond University All rights reserved.</copyright>
<link>http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie</link>
<description>Recent documents in Spreadsheets in Education (eJSiE)</description>
<language>en-us</language>
<lastBuildDate>Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:01:14 PST</lastBuildDate>
<ttl>3600</ttl>





<item>
<title>A Comparison of Two Methods for Completing Sudoku Puzzles</title>
<link>http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss3/1</link>
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<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:13:00 PST</pubDate>
<description>This study compared two methods for completing Sudoku puzzles.  More specifically, students in mathematics classes in Grades 4 and 5 completed Sudoku puzzles using either paper or a specially designed electronic spreadsheet which disallowed the entry of duplicate numbers.  Performance was measured by the number of entries in the puzzle and the percentage of correct entries.  Results showed that the Grade 5 participants did not differ on either performance measure.  On the other hand, the participants in Grade 4 using paper placed significantly more numbers, but the participants using the spreadsheet placed the numbers much more accurately.  These mixed results encourage teachers to continually reflect on the utility of instructional technologies in light of learner characteristics and subject matter.</description>

<author>Kenneth J. Luterbach Ph.D.</author>


<category>Mathematics</category>

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<title>Insight into the Fractional Calculus via a Spreadsheet</title>
<link>http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss2/4</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss2/4</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:39:07 PST</pubDate>
<description>Many students of calculus are not aware that the calculus they have learned is a special case (integer order) of fractional calculus. Fractional calculus is the study of arbitrary order derivatives and integrals and their applications. The article begins by stating a naive question from a student in a paper by Larson (1974) and establishes, for polynomials and exponential functions, that they can be deformed into their derivative using the &#956;-th order fractional derivatives for 0&lt;&#956;&lt;1. Through the power of Excel we illustrate the continuous deformations dynamically through conditional formatting. Some applications are discussed and a connection made to mathematics education.</description>

<author>David A. Miller</author>


<category>Mathematics</category>

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<title>Spreadsheets and the discovery of new knowledge</title>
<link>http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss2/1</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss2/1</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:55:08 PDT</pubDate>
<description>The paper introduces a new class of polynomials discovered as an extended inquiry into a two-parametric difference equation using a spreadsheet. These polynomials possess a number of interesting properties connected to the notion of a generalized golden ratio and can be used as a background for a spreadsheet-enhanced teaching of mathematics. The paper reflects on activities designed for a technology-rich mathematics education course for prospective teachers of secondary mathematics.</description>

<author>Sergei Abramovich</author>


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<title>Simulating Projectile Motion in the Air with Spreadsheets</title>
<link>http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss2/3</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss2/3</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:32:13 PDT</pubDate>
<description>The paper gives two examples of simulating motion with spreadsheets, which are projectile motion in vacuum, and projectile motion in the air with quadratic drag.</description>

<author>Jan Benacka</author>


<category>Physics</category>

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<title>Estimation Error in the Correlation of Two Random Variables: A Spreadsheet-Based Exposition</title>
<link>http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss2/2</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss2/2</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:50:39 PDT</pubDate>
<description>Although the statistical term &lt;em&gt;correlation&lt;/em&gt; is well-known across many academic disciplines, estimation error in the correlation has traditionally been considered to be a topic too difficult for students outside statistical fields.  This pedagogic study presents an approach for the estimation that does not require any advanced statistical concepts.  By using familiar spreadsheet functions to facilitate the required computations, it intends to make the analytical material involved accessible to more students.</description>

<author>Clarence C. Y. Kwan</author>


<category>Statistics</category>

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<title>3D Graphics with Spreadsheets</title>
<link>http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss1/7</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss1/7</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:58:31 PDT</pubDate>
<description>In the article, the formulas for orthographic parallel projection of 3D bodies on computer screen are derived using secondary school vector algebra. The spreadsheet implementation is demonstrated in six applications that project bodies with increasing intricacy - a convex body (cube) with non-solved visibility, convex bodies (cube, chapel) with solved visibility, a coloured convex body (chapel) with solved visibility, and a coloured non-convex body (church) with solved visibility. The projections are revolvable in horizontal and vertical plane, and they are changeable in size. The examples show an unusual way of using spreadsheets as a 3D computer graphics tool. The applications can serve as a simple introduction to the general principles of computer graphics, to the graphics with spreadsheets, and as a tool for exercising stereoscopic vision. The presented approach is usable at visualising 3D scenes within some topics of secondary school curricula as solid geometry (angles and distances of lines and planes within simple bodies) or analytic geometry in space (angles and distances of lines and planes in E3), and even at university level within calculus at visualising graphs of z = f(x,y) functions. Examples are pictured.</description>

<author>Jan Benacka</author>


<category>Mathematics</category>

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<title>Spreadsheet Data Resampling for Monte-Carlo Simulation</title>
<link>http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss1/6</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss1/6</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:13:48 PDT</pubDate>
<description>The pervasiveness of spreadsheet software resulted in its increased application as a simulation tool for business analysis. Random values generation supporting such evaluations using spreadsheets are simple and yet powerful. However, the typical approach to Monte-Carlo simulations, which is what simulations with stochasticity are called, requires significant amount of time to be spent on data collection and distribution function fitting. In fact, the latter can be overwhelming for undergraduate students to do properly in a short time. Resampling eliminates both the need to fit distributions to the sample data, and to perform the ensuing tests of goodness of fit, where sufficiently large data sets are necessary to achieve satisfactory levels of statistical confidence. In contrast, resampling methods can be used even with small data sets. This not only saves class time required to teach statistical data fitting; by generating random values, students also need not learn to use the more complex distribution function inversion method and can better focus on learning business modeling and analysis.</description>

<author>Thin Yin Leong Dr</author>


<category>Statistics</category>

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<title>Three Spreadsheet Models Of A Simple Pendulum</title>
<link>http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss1/5</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss1/5</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:44:15 PDT</pubDate>
<description>The paper gives three spreadsheet models of simple pendulum motion. In two of them, the graph of the pendulum angle is drawn upon the exact integral solution using numeric integration - the simpler model only uses spreadsheet functions, the general model uses a VBA program. The period results directly from the calculations. In the third model, the period is calculated first using the power series formula. The graph of the pendulum angle is drawn afterwards using Euler's method of solving differential equations. The error in gravity acceleration if calculated upon the standard cosine approximate formula instead of the exact one is graphed.</description>

<author>Jan Benacka</author>


<category>Physics</category>

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<title>Movie-like Animation with Excel&apos;s Single Step Iteration Exemplified by Lissajous Figures</title>
<link>http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss1/4</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss1/4</guid>
<pubDate>Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:01:59 PDT</pubDate>
<description>This paper presents a new interactive spreadsheet graphics animation technique which uses the spreadsheet engine's intrinsic single step iteration capability. The well-known Lissajous figures exemplify a time variant process demonstrating the virtually unlimited movie-like animation. At any time the visible motion may be interrupted, parameters may be modified, and then the calculation can be continued. First, this paper describes a simple example without VBA and then demonstrates the method's capability by a second more sophisticated Lissajous figures example using VBA. The downloadable workbook uses object blocks and comprises a pedagogically elaborated graphical user interface. It shows that the technique is applicable for both the unskilled student as well as the advanced programmer. This graphics animation method has the potential to revolutionize the spreadsheet usage for dynamical process simulations.</description>

<author>Wilfried A.L. Wischniewsky</author>


<category>Mathematics</category>

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<title>Spreadsheet Implementations for Solving Power-Flow Problems</title>
<link>http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss1/3</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol3/iss1/3</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:17:24 PDT</pubDate>
<description>The solution to the power-flow problem is of fundamental importance in power system analysis and design. Transient stability studies and fault analysis in power systems demand solutions to a power-flow problem as a first step in the analysis. Although commercial software such as PSS/E (Power System Simulator for Engineers) or PowerWorld can be used for power flow calculations, such specialized programs may not be widely available in many universities or colleges. Spreadsheets, on the other hand, provide an economic alternative for the implementation of the numerical algorithms encountered in power flows.</description>

<author>Mark A. Lau</author>


<category>Engineering</category>

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