c. Developing Your Own Knowledge of the Resources

Having created some spreadsheet models which he wanted pupils to use, the teacher now needed to learn how to set these up in Fireworkz and then think about the techniques which pupils would need to use in order to do the activities he had in mind.

He found it quite easy to work out how to create the same effects in Fireworkz that he had achieved with MS Works. The main difficulty was in copying (replicating) a formula into a block of cells below it, and he had to consult the IT Co-ordinator about how to do this. It turned out to be easier than in MS Works - it was just a question of knowing what button to press once the required block was selected.

It seemed that pupils should have little difficulty in doing at least the basic aspects of what he wanted them to do, as long as they were familiar with the techniques of:

• Moving the cursor.
• Selecting menu options and buttons on screen.
• Selecting blocks of cells.

He made a note of what to do to start the software, load a spreadsheet, type in values and formulas, copy formulas, and start a new spreadsheet.

Question for Consideration

• Investigate the IT skills of your year 7 and year 8 pupils. Would you foresee them having difficulty with the basic operations listed?

d. Planning the Work of Learners