EXCEL-lent Middle School Math Lessons!

"Can a computer program motivate math students weary of "drill and kill"? Teachers all over the country use Microsoft Excel in ways that excite students about the power of math in everyday life. This week, Education World talks with Illinois middle school teacher Kelly McMahon about three important roles Excel plays in her seventh- and eighth-grade classrooms. Included: Samples of student work, ideas from other teachers, and practical Web sites to help teachers get started using Excel in their own classrooms."

"McMahon uses a projection device to introduce a concept and demonstrate a technique on Excel. "Excel is a great way of introducing the idea of variables and setting up equations," McMahon told Education World. "When you set up an Excel spreadsheet, you are not really working with numbers. You are working with variables -- referencing 'cells.'"