Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Phase 2 Was a Different Experience

    I honestly believe I've learned a lot this semester thanks to everything we've covered in Excel. Although there were times when I prioritized other courses and almost forgot to do my homework. In fact, I didn’t even realize I had to do A6 until the very day it was due, so my first draft was late. But I think A6 was an excellent exercise for practicing teamwork with Excel. Although many of us, myself included, seriously thought the assignment was complete from the start and that we had followed all the instructions in the PDF. While that may be true, I honestly believe the instructions in the PDF were imprecise in purpose. I think the point of the assignment was largely to meet our instructor’s expectations. Even if we followed all the instructions, we had to make the final product look accurate, professional and perfect. That’s exactly why I want to show you how to use named cells and ranges in Excel.
  • 5.7.3 - Named Cells and Ranges
    Although naming a cell or a range in Excel may seem unnecessary—since, from a functional standpoint, we could simply enter the cell or range directly—it is necessary when working with an Excel workbook containing multiple worksheets because remembering the locations of each piece of data can be impossible, especially if the location is on a different sheet from the one you’re currently on. Assigning a name to a cell or range makes your workbook look more professional, as your future coworkers will be able to use your range to find the data they need more quickly. That’s why I encourage you to name every cell or range you’ll use for a function, because you never know when you’ll need it again.

  • Phase 3 will be about creativity and actualizing. Will you upgrade your mindset and habits to focus on the highest/best achievement instead of just keeping up/doing what's required?
    It's a bit late for me to be responding to this, since I'm already about to finish Phase 3, and I think I'm going to use what I've learned for the presentation I have coming up in my other class, and I'll use that same topic for my improved version of A5.

18 comments:

  1. Hi Josias, I like how you pointed out that A6 was not just about following instructions, but about actually understanding what the final output should look like. That is something I struggled with too, because even if you follow every step, it still will not look right unless you know what you are aiming for.

    The part where you said you did not even realize A6 was due until the day of, that honestly sounds too familiar. I had a similar situation where I thought I had more time, then suddenly I was rushing just to get something submitted. It is one of those lessons that hits once, and after that you start paying closer attention to deadlines.

    What you said about named cells and ranges also makes sense. At first it feels unnecessary, but once the file gets bigger or has multiple sheets, it actually makes things easier to follow. It is less about the current assignment and more about making your work usable later on.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your opening sentence!

    A6 is the first two capstone assignments where students apply what they learned and develop/bolster their independence. No instructions, just requirements and hints :-)

    Your A8 Improved Slideshow Presentation was very creative, Josias ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Josias. I like how honest you were about your performance in Phase 2. I had a similar experience where I was advised to start on my assignments before the semester started. I didn’t start on the assignments early enough due to other requirements for school. It can be easy for someone to fail behind when they have a lot of tasks that they must work on.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Josias, congrats on passing the expert level exams for Word and Excel! I love how at the time you're writing this you were already ahead, almost finishing up phase 3. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello Josias. I can relate to your feelings about A6, I just followed what I was prompted to do without really knowing how to improve upon that at first. Professor Wu was a great help in fixing my A6 and pointing out what I need to pay attention to in the future. Anything that aids in parsing through large amounts of data is A+ in my book, I really like named cells and ranges.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You convince me to name my cells and ranges well done. I never really consider that since I don't really use huge amounts of data nor other people using my spreadsheet but honestly, you make a good point about it and people should actually apply that chapter regularly. I also feel the same way when you prioritize other classes than IS101. The classes stack up and the next thing you know, you're in deep mud with school works. Great presentation and finish the semester strong like the final battle in TFT for the victory!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Josias, I agree that using names makes spreadsheets more organized and professional, especially when working with large workbooks that contain multiple sheets.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Josias. I agree that naming cell and ranges is really helpful when you are working on different worksheets and creating a formula. I like it, it makes the formula look neater and more professional. Also, about being a little late to answer the professor's questions, you can use the experience and apply them even after the course is done. You can always improve your creativity and habits to achieve better results.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hello Josias, I didn't see naming cells in that way but you brought up really good points that will definitely be useful in the future!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I honestly thought the same thing with A6 at first it looked finished until you realize how much detail and professionalism actually mattered. Also, your explanation about named cells and ranges was really good because it shows how useful they become once spreadsheets start getting bigger and more complicated.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hey Josias, You pointing out teamwork about A6 is absolutely correct when I was struggling to figure out a certain formula and how to navigate vise versa. With my peers we were able to complete it together. Being able to conversate over that assignment and help one another was a reason as to why I was able to finish the assignment the same day I started.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hello Josias. Named cells are very important! Its great to be able to reference and locate a set of data quickly, great choice!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Josias, I can relate to being too focused on other courses and forgetting to do my coursework for IS101. It's not exactly an 'I don't prioritize this class' thing. Sometimes other classes just have stricter professors, more challenging tasks, and harder to catch up to. One of the reasons why this class was my favorite for this semester is we get stressful loads of work, it's true, but we also learn from it and our professor is nice enough to understand that life happens. So don't let that get to you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hey Josias, what I liked about your first slideshow was the explanation of the layout of the game, very creative.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hey Josias! You did great in this class, especially with all those exams! You're right A6 was purposely made to make us think and it was a really great learning experience. Have a good one, keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hey Josias! Hearing you explain the importance of naming cells made me realize it's not as "useless" as I thought.

    ReplyDelete
  17. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Josias, that is a great way to look at A6, A7 was the same way. They were both helpful assignments in the way that we had to not only complete the task but think outside of the instructions and really place ourselves on the receiving end of the final product. If I were to receive the finished product and need to print, what would that look like? Have a great summer break!

    ReplyDelete