Microsoft Excel is commonly used to perform engineering calculations and present data. Manual grading is time consuming for the instructor and provides delayed feedback for the students. An automated grading program has been developed for Microsoft Excel spreadsheets which can grade both cell formulae and styles, matching the students work to a grading template. Students are provided feedback in comments in the cells where they have made a mistake. In addition, the program can also grade Excel graphs, evaluating graph data as well as type of graph (line, XY scatter, …) as well as line and marker styles for each element. Students submit their work via email, and receive an immediate response from the program, allowing the students to make corrections on their work. The effectiveness of the students learning while using the grading system is evaluated by comparing students’ scores on the exam covering the Excel material before and after the grading system was implemented. Also, the grades on comparable assignments is evaluated. In addition, student’s opinions about the program have been surveyed. Automated grading has been found to be beneficial to both students and instructors.
Dr. Keith Hekman is an associate professor in Mechanical Engineering. He has been at California Baptist University for eleven years. Prior to teaching at CBU, he has taught at Calvin College and the American University in Cairo. His Ph.D. is from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
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