Most students are taught to use a spreadsheet to collect data by the time they complete middle school. Unfortunately, they are rarely exposed to creating the spreadsheets’ close relative, the database. Databases are an integral part of web searches and are both simple and convenient for working with data. With a few simple steps a spreadsheet activity can be adapted for use as a database activity.
Important Spreadsheet Changes
Three fundamental parts of a spreadsheet are the rows, columns and cells. When students are taught to collect data with a spreadsheet they learn to create a table. Commonly, the column receives the heading for different categories of data and the rows are used to collect all of the data for one instance. The cell then contains one piece of data for a category and is associated with the other data in that row.
This translates easily into a database format. Instead of creating columns for a category, this information is called a field. The rows become a record and the cell itself contains only one piece of data. Imagine a page in a phone book: it can be created as a table in a spreadsheet or as a database where each person’s entry is a record and the categories, such as last name or phone number, are the fields.
Relevant Differences in Databases
One major difference is that databases are easier for searching for and displaying information. Spreadsheets are designed to easily access one cell, or piece of data, whereas databases are better for viewing data related to a record. Searches for databases can be preformed to not only find information but to collect it in easy to read formats.
Forms can be created to show certain fields for each record found, similar to the results from a web search. Forms are also useful for data entry, whether it is for large amounts of data or teaching younger children to enter information. This is because the form can be set up without the cells and designed so that it is easier to know what data should be entered in which box, making it easier for multiple students to work with the same collection.
Where spreadsheets are superior are with data collections that need graphs or calculations. Because a spreadsheet treats the data on a cell, not a row or record, basis it makes calculations based on individual data easier to setup and perform than with the database. Spreadsheet programs historically also have a larger variety of graphing choices than databases.
When in an educational setting it is easier to stick with spreadsheets, but the rising use of databases in society necessitate exposing students to the use of databases. By adapting an existing lesson that uses a spreadsheet to instead use a database, teachers can start exposing students to this powerful and useful tool.
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