Step-by-step Spreadsheets for Absolute Beginners

Introduction 5 lectures 23:08 Welcome! Welcome to Step-by-step Spreadsheets for Absolute Beginners!This course truly is for ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS - so if you've never touched a spreadsheet before in your life, you're in the right place! If you're tried to use spreadsheets in the past, only to find yourself utterly mystified and confused - don't worry, you're still in the right place. (If, on the other hand, you're already comfortable and confident using spreadsheets, this is probably not the right course for you!) My goal is to help you feel confident using spreadsheets, no matter what your background is. I think spreadsheets are super cool and exceptionally useful - and by the end of this course, I hope you do too! Let's get started! PS If you have any questions while we go through this course, please ask! Either post your question as a new discussion in the course dashboard, or contact me! Why are spreadsheets so awesome? Why so I think spreadsheets are so awesome? If you're dying to jump into learning about spreadsheets, and you don't want to listen to me talk about how cool and awesome spreadsheets are - feel free to skip ahead to the next lecture. Otherwise, here's why I think spreadsheets are the bee's knees. What you need to get started What do you need to get started? There are five things you'll need: 1. A computer! Either a desktop or laptop will do. Windows, Mac or Linux is fine -- and don't worry if it's an older model. 2. Some rudimentary computer skills. You need to know how to use a mouse, as well as how to open and save files. 3. Some basic math comprehension. You need to understand addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Just basic grade school stuff. (And don't worry, you won't have to do any of it in your head!) 4. Some kind of spreadsheet software. You may already have Microsoft Excel, and that will do just fine. If not, you can download and install a free program called LibreOffice (available for Windows, Mac, and Linux). (I'll talk more about this in the next lecture too.) 5. A desire to learn! Choose your weapon: Free alternatives to Microsoft Excel Let's talk about spreadsheet software! Microsoft Excel is currently the most popular spreadsheet software application around, and it's probably the software most of you are using. Excel is part of the Microsoft Office office productivity suite. It's not cheap, which is why I also want to tell you about...Free Alternatives to Microsoft ExcelYes, there are free (and legal) alternatives to Microsoft Excel! If you don't have Excel on your computer (or even if you do, and you're curious about other how programs work) here are some options to explore:1. LibreOffice is a free and open source software program that's available for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. It's a great piece of software, and I've been using it for years as my main office productivity suite. You can download it for free from the LibreOffice website at: libreoffice.org2. Google Drive is a suite of web applications that runs in your web browser - which means it's available to you from any computer that's connected to the Internet. Google Drive includes a powerful web-based spreadsheet program called Google Sheets you can access online. If you have a Gmail address, you already have access to Google Drive.3. Another web-based option is Microsoft's Office Web Apps that are free to access online. Excel Online (formerly called the Microsoft Excel Web App) is included in this suite of web applications. I'll be using LibreOffice for most of these lectures, but you'll be able to do everything I show you in the spreadsheet program of your choice. Choose your weapon: Free alternatives to Microsoft Excel Project overview: 5-song CD recording budget What's our project all about? It's a lot more fun to learn by doing, rather than try to absorb a lot of abstract concepts. So for this course, we're going to pretend that we're in a band, and we're putting together a budget to record our first CD. Our band is called the Robobunny All-Stars, and we're on a tight budget! So we need to keep track of all our expenses for this project. We'll also want to track all the ways we can make money from this CD. And hopefully, when all's said and done, we'll make a profit! You can copy this project, or choose another project that you're passionate about. Any project that involves budgeting income and expenses will do for the purposes of this course. Are you ready? Start up your spreadsheet program, and let's dive in! Introduction. 5 lectures 23:08 Welcome! Welcome to Step-by-step Spreadsheets for Absolute Beginners!This course truly is for ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS - so if you've never touched a spreadsheet before in your life, you're in the right place! If you're tried to use spreadsheets in the past, only to find yourself utterly mystified and confused - don't worry, you're still in the right place. (If, on the other hand, you're already comfortable and confident using spreadsheets, this is probably not the right course for you!) My goal is to help you feel confident using spreadsheets, no matter what your background is. I think spreadsheets are super cool and exceptionally useful - and by the end of this course, I hope you do too! Let's get started! PS If you have any questions while we go through this course, please ask! Either post your question as a new discussion in the course dashboard, or contact me! Why are spreadsheets so awesome? Why so I think spreadsheets are so awesome? If you're dying to jump into learning about spreadsheets, and you don't want to listen to me talk about how cool and awesome spreadsheets are - feel free to skip ahead to the next lecture. Otherwise, here's why I think spreadsheets are the bee's knees. What you need to get started What do you need to get started? There are five things you'll need: 1. A computer! Either a desktop or laptop will do. Windows, Mac or Linux is fine -- and don't worry if it's an older model. 2. Some rudimentary computer skills. You need to know how to use a mouse, as well as how to open and save files. 3. Some basic math comprehension. You need to understand addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Just basic grade school stuff. (And don't worry, you won't have to do any of it in your head!) 4. Some kind of spreadsheet software. You may already have Microsoft Excel, and that will do just fine. If not, you can download and install a free program called LibreOffice (available for Windows, Mac, and Linux). (I'll talk more about this in the next lecture too.) 5. A desire to learn! Choose your weapon: Free alternatives to Microsoft Excel Let's talk about spreadsheet software! Microsoft Excel is currently the most popular spreadsheet software application around, and it's probably the software most of you are using. Excel is part of the Microsoft Office office productivity suite. It's not cheap, which is why I also want to tell you about...Free Alternatives to Microsoft ExcelYes, there are free (and legal) alternatives to Microsoft Excel! If you don't have Excel on your computer (or even if you do, and you're curious about other how programs work) here are some options to explore:1. LibreOffice is a free and open source software program that's available for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. It's a great piece of software, and I've been using it for years as my main office productivity suite. You can download it for free from the LibreOffice website at: libreoffice.org2. Google Drive is a suite of web applications that runs in your web browser - which means it's available to you from any computer that's connected to the Internet. Google Drive includes a powerful web-based spreadsheet program called Google Sheets you can access online. If you have a Gmail address, you already have access to Google Drive.3. Another web-based option is Microsoft's Office Web Apps that are free to access online. Excel Online (formerly called the Microsoft Excel Web App) is included in this suite of web applications. I'll be using LibreOffice for most of these lectures, but you'll be able to do everything I show you in the spreadsheet program of your choice. Choose your weapon: Free alternatives to Microsoft Excel Project overview: 5-song CD recording budget What's our project all about? It's a lot more fun to learn by doing, rather than try to absorb a lot of abstract concepts. So for this course, we're going to pretend that we're in a band, and we're putting together a budget to record our first CD. Our band is called the Robobunny All-Stars, and we're on a tight budget! So we need to keep track of all our expenses for this project. We'll also want to track all the ways we can make money from this CD. And hopefully, when all's said and done, we'll make a profit! You can copy this project, or choose another project that you're passionate about. Any project that involves budgeting income and expenses will do for the purposes of this course. Are you ready? Start up your spreadsheet program, and let's dive in! Welcome! Welcome to Step-by-step Spreadsheets for Absolute Beginners!This course truly is for ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS - so if you've never touched a spreadsheet before in your life, you're in the right place! If you're tried to use spreadsheets in the past, only to find yourself utterly mystified and confused - don't worry, you're still in the right place. (If, on the other hand, you're already comfortable and confident using spreadsheets, this is probably not the right course for you!) My goal is to help you feel confident using spreadsheets, no matter what your background is. I think spreadsheets are super cool and exceptionally useful - and by the end of this course, I hope you do too! Let's get started! PS If you have any questions while we go through this course, please ask! Either post your question as a new discussion in the course dashboard, or contact me! Welcome! Welcome to Step-by-step Spreadsheets for Absolute Beginners!This course truly is for ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS - so if you've never touched a spreadsheet before in your life, you're in the right place! If you're tried to use spreadsheets in the past, only to find yourself utterly mystified and confused - don't worry, you're still in the right place. (If, on the other hand, you're already comfortable and confident using spreadsheets, this is probably not the right course for you!) My goal is to help you feel confident using spreadsheets, no matter what your background is. I think spreadsheets are super cool and exceptionally useful - and by the end of this course, I hope you do too! Let's get started! PS If you have any questions while we go through this course, please ask! Either post your question as a new discussion in the course dashboard, or contact me! Welcome! Welcome to Step-by-step Spreadsheets for Absolute Beginners!This course truly is for ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS - so if you've never touched a spreadsheet before in your life, you're in the right place! If you're tried to use spreadsheets in the past, only to find yourself utterly mystified and confused - don't worry, you're still in the right place. (If, on the other hand, you're already comfortable and confident using spreadsheets, this is probably not the right course for you!) My goal is to help you feel confident using spreadsheets, no matter what your background is. I think spreadsheets are super cool and exceptionally useful - and by the end of this course, I hope you do too! Let's get started! PS If you have any questions while we go through this course, please ask! Either post your question as a new discussion in the course dashboard, or contact me! Welcome! Welcome to Step-by-step Spreadsheets for Absolute Beginners!This course truly is for ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS - so if you've never touched a spreadsheet before in your life, you're in the right place! If you're tried to use spreadsheets in the past, only to find yourself utterly mystified and confused - don't worry, you're still in the right place. (If, on the other hand, you're already comfortable and confident using spreadsheets, this is probably not the right course for you!) My goal is to help you feel confident using spreadsheets, no matter what your background is. I think spreadsheets are super cool and exceptionally useful - and by the end of this course, I hope you do too! Let's get started! PS If you have any questions while we go through this course, please ask! Either post your question as a new discussion in the course dashboard, or contact me!Welcome to Step-by-step Spreadsheets for Absolute Beginners!This course truly is for ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS - so if you've never touched a spreadsheet before in your life, you're in the right place! If you're tried to use spreadsheets in the past, only to find yourself utterly mystified and confused - don't worry, you're still in the right place. (If, on the other hand, you're already comfortable and confident using spreadsheets, this is probably not the right course for you!) My goal is to help you feel confident using spreadsheets, no matter what your background is. I think spreadsheets are super cool and exceptionally useful - and by the end of this course, I hope you do too! Let's get started! PS If you have any questions while we go through this course, please ask! Either post your question as a new discussion in the course dashboard, or contact me!Welcome to Step-by-step Spreadsheets for Absolute Beginners!This course truly is for ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS - so if you've never touched a spreadsheet before in your life, you're in the right place! If you're tried to use spreadsheets in the past, only to find yourself utterly mystified and confused - don't worry, you're still in the right place. (If, on the other hand, you're already comfortable and confident using spreadsheets, this is probably not the right course for you!) My goal is to help you feel confident using spreadsheets, no matter what your background is. I think spreadsheets are super cool and exceptionally useful - and by the end of this course, I hope you do too! Let's get started! PS If you have any questions while we go through this course, please ask! Either post your question as a new discussion in the course dashboard, or contact me! Why are spreadsheets so awesome? Why so I think spreadsheets are so awesome? If you're dying to jump into learning about spreadsheets, and you don't want to listen to me talk about how cool and awesome spreadsheets are - feel free to skip ahead to the next lecture. Otherwise, here's why I think spreadsheets are the bee's knees. Why are spreadsheets so awesome? Why so I think spreadsheets are so awesome? If you're dying to jump into learning about spreadsheets, and you don't want to listen to me talk about how cool and awesome spreadsheets are - feel free to skip ahead to the next lecture. Otherwise, here's why I think spreadsheets are the bee's knees. Why are spreadsheets so awesome? Why so I think spreadsheets are so awesome? If you're dying to jump into learning about spreadsheets, and you don't want to listen to me talk about how cool and awesome spreadsheets are - feel free to skip ahead to the next lecture. Otherwise, here's why I think spreadsheets are the bee's knees. Why are spreadsheets so awesome? Why so I think spreadsheets are so awesome? If you're dying to jump into learning about spreadsheets, and you don't want to listen to me talk about how cool and awesome spreadsheets are - feel free to skip ahead to the next lecture. Otherwise, here's why I think spreadsheets are the bee's knees. Why so I think spreadsheets are so awesome? If you're dying to jump into learning about spreadsheets, and you don't want to listen to me talk about how cool and awesome spreadsheets are - feel free to skip ahead to the next lecture. Otherwise, here's why I think spreadsheets are the bee's knees. Why so I think spreadsheets are so awesome? If you're dying to jump into learning about spreadsheets, and you don't want to listen to me talk about how cool and awesome spreadsheets are - feel free to skip ahead to the next lecture. Otherwise, here's why I think spreadsheets are the bee's knees. What you need to get started What do you need to get started? There are five things you'll need: 1. A computer! Either a desktop or laptop will do. Windows, Mac or Linux is fine -- and don't worry if it's an older model. 2. Some rudimentary computer skills next lecture too.) 5. A desire to...