"Right Clicking"

You can "right click" on a Mac with a single button mouse. To do so, you can do either of the following:

1. Press and hold the Control Key while clicking.
2. (This one only works if you have a Mac with a touchpad - usually a laptop) place two fingers on the touchpad while clicking.

[Advanced Lesson] Creating a Double Bar Graph Excel (or NeoOffice) to Inspire

This tutorial aids a teacher in the following 5th grade math grade level expectation:

0506.5.1 Construct and analyze double bar and line graphs.

The Sample Data

We'll pretend we took some students to a zoo and turned them loose with only one instruction: count the number of each kind of animal you see and bring me the results. We'll also pretend we have tabulated these results.

Sources of Data

Where do I get the names for the people in my charts? I let Uncle Sam help me pick them!

Where do I get the ideas for animals in my charts? I used a search engine to search for a list of animals!*

Where do I get the data (the numbers) in my charts? I used a search engine to search for a random number generator!* I did say pretend; random number generators are much cheaper than paying for the bus mileage, bus driver, student admissions/lunches, chaperones, etc.

* Please note: these two links go to lmgtfy.com (where "lmgtfy" stands for "let me Google that for you") and the site is a bit snarky/snide/mocking. The sarcasm is not intended here (it's that site's sarcasm; the site was designed for online chat rooms where people as questions like, "Where can I find a place to translate English into Spanish for free?". A poster can respond with such a link to remind the original poster of the question that search engines are still working). Searching anew for such sites can generate results that I did not get - which gives you access to new data sources. Besides, the site is great place to demonstrate keyword searches.

The data is also available here in csv format (Comma Separated Values; a format readable by Excel and other spreadsheet programs, such as the freely available OpenOffice.org (Linux, Windows, Mac, etc) Calc (yes, the OpenOffice.org software is named the same as the OpenOffice.org website...) or NeoOffice (a derivative of OpenOffice with Mac native options, such as text highlighting).

This tutorial is presented in two different formats:

• If you use Microsoft Excel, Click here for Excel instructions
• If you use OpenOffice.org or NeoOffice, Click here for instructions

Excel Instructions

If you are not familiar with CSV, here's how to use it in each of those programs (you'll only need one of the three):

• In Excel, go to the File menu, and go down to then click Import. CSV is the first option. Click the import button. Direct Excel to the folder with the CSV file; double click on the file. Then click the Finish button.

Make A Chart

Since our standard mentions "double bar graphs", we'll use the students panda and koala data.

1. Select the data to be used in the chart. Start with cell A1 and select down to C6.
   
2. Click on the Insert menu and go down to Chart. Click on Chart. For the chart type, choose Column.

An example of an Excel graph.

Putting the Excel chart into ACTIVInspire

You can click and drag from Excel and just drop the chart into Inspire. That's why you pay the big bucks for Microsoft Office.

Click here to jump down to the INSPIRE lesson

NeoOffice/OpenOffice.org Instructions

If you are not familiar with CSV, here's how to use it in each of those programs (you'll only need one):

• In OpenOffice.org, go to the File menu, and go down to then click Open. Direct OpenOffice.org to the folder with the CSV file; double click on the file. Then click the OK button.
• In NeoOffice, go to the File menu, and go down to then click Open. Direct NeoOffice to the folder with the CSV file; double click on the file. Then click the OK button.

Make A Chart

Since our standard mentions "double bar graphs", we'll use the students panda and koala data. Regardless if you're using Excel, OpenOffice.org or NeoOffice, the procedure is pretty much the same.

1. Select the data to be used in the chart. Start with cell A1 and select down to C6.
   
2. Click on the Insert menu and go down to Chart. Click on Chart. For the chart type, choose Column. If prompted, click the Finish button.

An example of a NeoOffice graph. The free product doesn't produce as pretty default results as the paid-for product, but it is usable. Below is the same chart with a few tweaks (beyond this tutorial, but if you're familiar with customizing a chart, double click a bar. Set the Borders to invisible and set the transparency mode to gradient (linear) with an end value of 80%).

Putting the graph into ACTIVInspire

With OpenOffice.org or NeoOffice, you'll need to get a screen shot. You do this with a simple Mac keyboard shortcut, Command+Option+4 (Hold the Command key, the Option key and the number 4 key at the same time). Your cursor will turn into a cross-hair (or plus sign). Click (without releasing) and drag across an area. Release the mouse. On your desktop will be a file called "Picture 1.png" or "Picture 2.png", etc. You just need to drag across the graph and you'll have an image to place in ACTIVInspire.

Adding in an ACTIVLesson

Since there's no default table built into Inspire, I designed a table using the rectangle shape. I simply created them and moved them into tabular format and used text boxes over them. I have gone over shapes in the initial instruction I have given out through-out the year. Have students come to the board with the pen to fill-in the data.