Spreadsheet Techniques For Engineering Professors: The Case Of Excel And Engineering Economics

This paper provides engineering professors with techniques for using spreadsheets to improve teaching. It focuses on how to use the software, rather than classroom dynamics, by explaining methods for applying Excel to engineering economics that can be used in other disciplines. It first discusses intrinsic functions, and then it develops custom functions that use notation familiar to a student, such as PF(i , n) for (P|F, i , n). Next it covers how to produce diagrams and graphics via the drawing toolbar and custom cut-and-paste libraries, as well as how to show all formulas and logic rather than just numeric results. Then it describes hiding and protecting answers used to check student work, and it addresses common notational issues such as subscripts, superscripts, and Greek symbols. Finally, it uses forms to enhance the foregoing procedures.