The Fast Starter exercise walks students through projecting their salary and retirement savings over the course of their career. It provides exposure to dozens of Excel techniques that appear on the Microsoft Excel Certification exam. Students pay $14.95 for the exercise and are guided through a video with numbered steps.
The students are taught 34 different Excel concepts, including 3 features, 6 worksheet functions, 14 techniques, and 11 commands.
3 Features
- Find & Replace feature
- Cell Styles feature
- Filter feature
6 Worksheet Functions
- IF function
- IFERROR function
- MAX function
- MOD function
- PV function
- SUM function
12 Commands
- Bold Text command
- Insert Borders command
- Remove Decimals command
- Center Text command
- Wrap Text command
- Center Across Selection command
- Insert PivotChart command
- Insert PivotTable command
- Text Boxes command
- Filter blank rows
- Hiding PivotChart filter buttons
- Applying Cell Styles
- Protect Sheet command
- Protect Workbook command
14 Techniques
- Drag formulas down rows
- Formatting print settings
- Unlocking input cells
- Custom Number formatting
- Enable Developer menu
- Add titles to chart
- Moving charts
- Creating dynamic chart title
- Formatting Chart Axis numbers
- Choosing color palettes
- Drag formulas across columns
- Formatting Pivot Charts
- Adding Spin Button controls
- Formatting Spin Button controls
Each student is assigned a unique 4-digit number known as their Spreadsheet ID for use during the exercise. This ID number is incorporated into the exercise and helps ensure that each student turns in their own work.
The students submit their work to us and we handle all of the grading. We give you three scores:
- Completion: This score indicates if the student attempted a given step.
- Accuracy: This score indicates carried out the step accurately.
- Combined: The average of the two Completion and Accuracy scores.
Within one week of an assignment’s due date we provide instructors with a spreadsheet showing all student results. Partial credit in our scoring is given if a student at least attempts a step. Instructors determine final credit for each student, and whether late submissions are allowed. Students receive written feedback confirming which steps were completed successfully, as well as providing guidance on steps that they did not attempt or did not complete correctly.
Some instructors give more weight to the Completion score than the Accuracy score, while other instructors use the combined average when determining credit. We’re happy to provide any additional information that can help you as an instructor.
- Exercise Video
- Purchase instructions – to share with your students
- There is no download for this presentation, the students start with a blank Excel worksheet.
Please direct questions to David Ringstrom (david@studentsxl.com) or 404.784.0275. Learn more about us at www.studentsxl.com.