COMPUTER SCIENCE (Gruppo B)
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2022/2023
- Teacher
- CRISTIAN ZAMBELLI
- Credits
- 4
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- INF/01
Training objectives
- The computer science studies how to treat the information through the exploitation of software technologies that allows a proper data manipulation and representation. The main goal of the course is to provide to the students a knowledge base of one of the most spread tools for data management in economy and industry: the spreadsheet software. Through the learning of the software functionalities (open-source such as Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel) the student will orient on the best strategies to adopt for information description.
At the end of the course the student knows and comprehend:
- The theoretical elements of spreadsheets (data types, references, formulae)
- The management of the spreadsheet (formatting, data input, manipulation)
- The formulae and the methods principally devised for the statistical description of an ensemble of data
- The graphical representation of the information elaboration results
- The connection of the spreadsheet software with other tools for data description and its advanced functionalities (macro and pivot tables)
At the end of the course the student will gain the following abilities:
- Knows how to use the right terms for spreadsheet functionalities
- Knows how to prepare a spreadsheet for data input, formatting and consequent manipulation
- Knows how to provide an optimized graphical representation for the type of data handled
- Knows how to apply the formulae for statistical description of an ensemble of data
- Knows how to share the information between spreadsheets and other software through complex automated procedures Prerequisites
- No formal propedeuticities are required. However, basic knowledge of personal computer and operating systems, web surfing for content searching, and mathematics are mandatory skills.
Course programme
- The course is structured in four parts (modules). The first module deals with basic spreadsheet features and data entry and manipulation features. The second module concerns the graphic features of spreadsheet and their properties. The third module deals with the functions used for the statistical description of the information. The fourth module concerns the advanced features of the software. Specifically, the arguments are as follows:
Module I (10 hours):
- Introduction and historical outline of data processing spreadsheets
- The Microsoft Excel and Google Sheet software: operating environment and technical features of the spreadsheet
- Entering data in the cells and allowed data types
- Cell copy and creation of worksheets
- Relative and absolute references
- Data import and formatting of the same
- Expressions, formulas and functions for simple data processing (arithmetic and logic functions)
Module II (6 hours):
- The graphic features of spreadsheets
- Histograms, pie charts, line and scatter charts
- Graphs in two and three dimensions and representation of multiple data sets on the same graph
Module III (8 hours):
- Statistical analysis and data description
- Calculation of mean and variance of a data set
- Absolute, relative, cumulative frequencies and data percentages
- Construction of frequency distribution tables
- How to compare different types of data
- How to use the indicators of average, variance, percentiles and quartiles in data analysis
Module IV (4 hours):
- Use filters to easily find data
- Share and export the data processed in spreadsheet in other software like document and slide editors
- How to make a simple macro to automate an operation and how to make a pivot table Didactic methods
- The course is structured in lectures for a total of 28 teaching hours (4 CFU). Lessons take place both through the use of PowerPoint slides with classroom discussion and video-recordings for the use of the program at a distance. Furthermore, to facilitate the understanding of the course contents, Excel and Google Sheets software are used, showing the application of theoretical concepts on cases of real use. During the course, the teacher will also provide self-assessment exercises to provide students with an awareness of the assimilation of the theoretical concepts presented during the course.
Learning assessment procedures
- The aim of the exam is to verify at which level the learning objectives previously described have been acquired.
The exam consists in a written examination made with 16 multiple choice questions. The exam duration is one hour. The questions assess the knowledge of the theoretical basis of the spreadsheet software and on the ability of righteous application of its functionalities for data representation and interpretation: 4 questions are related to the spreadsheet structure and on the data management/formatting/manipulation; 4 questions are related to the graphical features offered by spreadsheet to interpret data; 4 questions are related to the functions used for statistical description of the data; 4 questions are related to the interaction of the spreadsheet software with other tools plus the advanced tool functionalities like data sharing/macro/pivot tables.
For each question, a score equal to +2 is given in case of right answer, a score equal to -1 in case of wrong answer and a null score in case of missing answer. The final mark is the sum of the scores of the single questions.
The assessment is expressed in thirtieths. The minimum score to pass the exam is 18. If the score of the examination is greater or equal 31 it will be assigned the commendation mark (30 e lode).
Passing the final exam is the proof that knowledge and abilities outlined in the training objectives of the course have been achieved. Reference texts
- The main textbooks used as a complement for this course are:
- "Excel 2019: Conoscere e utilizzare i fogli di calcolo", Edimatica, Apogeo editore (ISBN: 9788850334537). Ottobre 2018. This book covers modules 1, 2, and 4 of the course.
- "Analisi statistica con Excel", D. Giuliani e M.M. Dickson, Apogeo education e Maggioli editore (ISBN: 8838789908). Gennaio 2015. Questo testo (Chapters from 1 to 3) covers module 3 of the course.
