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Delivering Management Science Tutorials via Excel

Jane Hagstrom

Department of Information and Decision Sciences

University of Illinois at Chicago

Jane Hagstrom

Department of Information and Decision Sciences

University of Illinois at Chicago

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Need for Effective Communication

• Students are learning advanced spreadsheet techniques in their business courses.

• Some students do not absorb textbook explanations of techniques.

• Students may not be able to take useful notes or remember classroom demonstrations.

• Lab sessions may be difficult to schedule.

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Delivering tutorials

• Tutorials that can be used in the lab or at home give students the chance to learn in a hands-on environment.

• Since Excel is the “message,” make it the medium.

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Implementation

• Animated tutorials can be produced using Excel’s macro language, Visual Basic for Applications.

• Help files can be created to explain the context and list steps that need to be performed.

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Applications

• Efficient use of Excel

• Creating data tables and charts for response analysis (Capturing effects of decisions on critical outputs)

• Optimization using Excel’s Solver

• Monte Carlo simulation and analysis using Excel and its Analysis Toolpak

• Computing net present value

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Demonstration

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Success?

• Some students rely heavily on the tutorials.– Can repeat as often as they like.– Help file can be used for new problems.

• Some students don’t “relate” to the tutorials.– Environment becomes too distracting?– Presentation may not be “tuned” for the

student’s specific computing environment.

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Challenges

• Creating more engaging tutorials

• Making the path through the tutorial more natural

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Sponsors of this effort

• CNA Insurance training

• College of Business Administration grant

• Council for Excellence in Teaching and Learning grant

• Center for Research in Information Management grant

• Academic Computing Center support

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Where can you revisit this?

• Http://www.uic.edu/~hagstrom/fsi