Microsoft Office Programs

Microsoft Office software is commonly used in the academic and business realm when completing assignments or projects. This software includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF. Each of these has its strengths and weaknesses, discussed in this post by first comparing the applications and discussing similarities and differences. Then discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each application and finally giving a recommendation of which application I feel is the best and can be used in place of the other apps. Microsoft Office software can be a valuable tool if used correctly and finding the best program for the job is essential to a successful assignment or project.

Utilizing a Word processor, Excel Spreadsheet, and PowerPoint presentation was a simple task mainly because, in the working world, those applications are commonly used. The skills required for each application have been attained and developed starting from grade school and continuing through employment with the United States Air Force. Between these three applications, there are many similarities, from being able to write complete sentences to input statistics or adding outside image sources to depict information. These applications also have their strengths; for example, Word processing can create a written report and convert it from a word document to a PDF. Word processing is a more professional-looking document for reports and memos. Excel and PowerPoint can also be saved as a PDF, but after being converted, editing can be challenging unless reverted to a word, excel, or PowerPoint. The Word Processing application can create spreadsheets with dates and numbers, but it cannot automatically calculate or add columns as excel can. Word processing is mainly used for creating written memos and messages or for school writing and writing essays and papers. PowerPoint is mainly for presenting information during business meetings or proposals, and Excel is for calculating and presenting data.

A disadvantage is that reading word documents can get boring and make readers lose interest if documents are too long. An advantage of Excel is that information can be easily quantified and calculated without running every line and number through a calculator. It is also easy to order and sort documents. A disadvantage of Excel is the difficulty to use. An article titled "A Comparison of Student Perceptions of their Computer Skills to their Actual Abilities" stated that most students could not perform common or even basic actions (Grant et al., 2009). Excel calculations can be hard to figure out unless they have received specific training or research through YouTube or Google. Excel can be incorporated into PowerPoint, another advanced task requiring research and learning, but most students can operate the basic tasks within PowerPoint. PowerPoint has been shown to increase students learning by keeping their attention and boosting interest (Gambari et al., 2015). Including animations, images, and effects within each slide will assist students' visual learning. Also, subjects can be taught in less time by using PowerPoint. The disadvantage is that sometimes slides can be too colorful or distracting, which removes the learning objective.

Using the Word processing app over the types of Microsoft software is recommended for its ease of use and the ability to perform many of the same tasks. Studies have shown that Microsoft Word is the most straightforward program for performing basic and even moderate tasks (Grant et al., 2009). If having to choose only one application, the Word processing app would be the one to choose from because it can do several tasks of Excel and PowerPoint. In Word, tables can be created to organize data like Excel, and pictures or images can be added, like with PowerPoint, to improve visual learning and keep the reader's attention. The Word processing app is the best program to accomplish the most tasks within one document.

Picking the correct Microsoft Office software application for the project or assignment is half the battle in an academic or professional career. Many of these applications perform some of the same tasks but using these separate applications can expand the readability or visual effects, improving the reader's interest. Understanding how each application works and its limitations can assist in picking the best one for the project. Keep in mind that one application can perform multiple tasks of other software programs, making using one a better option than using multiple apps.

-Matthew

 

References

Gambari, A. I., Yusuf, H. T., & Balogun, S. A. (2015). Effectiveness of PowerPoint Presentation on

Students' Cognitive Achievement in Technical Drawing. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology, 3(4), 1-12.

 

Grant, D. M., Malloy, A. D., & Murphy, M. C. (2009). A comparison of student perceptions of their

computer skills to their actual abilities. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 8(1), 141-160.