Excel and Google Sheets

Three Benefits: Using Google Sheets and Excel in science instruction can 1) render students accessibility and simplicity in organizing and analyzing scientific data, which aids in the development of fundamental data analysis and visualization skills for success in various scientific fields, assist instructors in creating interactive and engaging science education that fosters active learning and student involvement, 3) assist students in organizing, analyzing, and visualizing scientific data that can benefit student engagement and comprehension of scientific concepts (Boss & Larmer, 2018; Shen et al., 2023)

Classroom Application: Students can utilize Excel or Google Sheets to organize research data about scientific subjects under examination. This collected information can serve as evidence in research papers concerning these topics. For instance, Excel or Google Sheets may be used by students to accumulate data from experiments or surveys associated with scientific subjects. After gathering the necessary data, these software applications can utilize statistical functions like mean, median, mode, standard deviation, and regression analysis. Altogether it can assist students in recognizing patterns and trends within the data (Mella-Norambuena et al., 2021; Shen et al., 2023).

Academic Integrity: Instructors who use Excel or Google Sheets for science instruction can implement various strategies to tackle academic integrity issues by delivering explicit instructions on analyzing data using these software tools. Instructors can teach students the appropriate methods for organizing, summarizing, and visualizing data, emphasizing interpreting data and drawing meaningful conclusions. In addition, incorporating real-world datasets into assignments can further promote authenticity and encourage critical thinking, reducing the likelihood of students resorting to pre-existing answers online or in solution manuals.