Introduction to Programming
with Excel and VBA
Course Overview
Course Goals
• Learn general problem-solving skills and
methods, and apply them to a process for
developing computer and spreadsheet
applications
• Be able to create and evaluate logical
expressions, and use them to direct the behavior
of spreadsheets and programs
• Understand the concepts of sequential, selective,
modular, and repetitive task processing, and be
able to apply them to build applications in Excel
and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)
Enhance Your Skill Sets
• Problem solving skills: learn how to organize yourself to
develop a process to accomplish a goal
• Excel skills: learn how to use some of the advanced
features of Excel to avoid repetitive tasks and build
awesome spreadsheets
• Logic skills: useful in Excel, in working with databases,
in programming, and in plenty of other situations
• Programming skills: learn the fundamentals of
programming; if nothing else, be able to communicate
with programmers and understand their issues
We Will NOT Learn
• Everything about Excel. There is way, way too
much. But you will learn enough that you can
figure out most of the other things on your
own if you want to.
• Everything about programming. Programming
and the things you can do with it is a whole
major in itself. But you will learn enough to go
on to CS 162 and see if you want to become
an expert programmer.
Types of Learning
• When we talk about “learning”, there are
different things we could mean
• A man named Benjamin Bloom was in charge of a
group in the 1950’s that came up with a
classification of types of learning, called “Bloom’s
taxonomy”
• There are six major categories, each dependent
on the previous one
• There are some extra details on the following
slides for those who are interested
Bloom’s Taxonomy (1)
• Knowledge: Recall data or information.
– Examples: Recite a policy. Quote prices from memory to a customer.
Knows the safety rules.
– Key Words: defines, describes, identifies, knows, labels, lists, matches,
names, outlines, recalls, recognizes, reproduces, selects, states.
• Comprehension: Understand the meaning, translation,
interpolation, and interpretation of instructions and
problems. State a problem in one's own words.
– Examples: Rewrites the principles of test writing. Explain in one’s own
words the steps for performing a complex task. Translates an equation
into a computer spreadsheet.
– Key Words: comprehends, converts, defends, distinguishes, estimates,
explains, extends, generalizes, gives examples, infers, interprets,
paraphrases, predicts, rewrites, summarizes, translates.
Bloom’s taxonomy (2)
• Application: Use a concept in a new situation or unprompted use of an
abstraction. Applies what was learned in the classroom into novel
situations in the work place.
– Examples: Use a manual to calculate an employeeís vacation time. Apply laws
of statistics to evaluate the reliability of a written test.
– Key Words: applies, changes, computes, constructs, demonstrates, discovers,
manipulates, modifies, operates, predicts, prepares, produces, relates, shows,
solves, uses.
• Analysis: Separates material or concepts into component parts so that
its organizational structure may be understood. Distinguishes between
facts and inferences.
– Examples: Troubleshoot a piece of equipment by using logical deduction.
Recognize logical fallacies in reasoning. Gathers information from a
department and selects the required tasks for training.
– Key Words: analyzes, breaks down, compares, contrasts, diagrams,
deconstructs, differentiates, discriminates, distinguishes, identifies, illustrates,
infers, outlines, relates, selects, separates.
Bloom’s taxonomy (3)
• Synthesis: Builds a structure or pattern from diverse
elements. Put parts together to form a whole, with emphasis
on creating a new meaning or structure.
– Examples: Write a company operations or process manual. Design a machine
to perform a specific task. Integrates training from several sources to solve a
problem. Revises and process to improve the outcome.
– Key Words: categorizes, combines, compiles, composes, creates, devises,
designs, explains, generates, modifies, organizes, plans, rearranges,
reconstructs, relates, reorganizes, revises, rewrites, summarizes, tells, writes.
• Evaluation: Make judgments about the value of ideas or
materials.
– Examples: Select the most effective solution. Hire the most qualified
candidate. Explain and justify a new budget.
– Key Words: appraises, compares, concludes, contrasts, criticizes, critiques,
defends, describes, discriminates, evaluates, explains, interprets, justifies,
relates, summarizes, supports.
Bloom’s Taxonomy Categories
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Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
• To be able to actually use knowledge, you have to
get to at least the Application stage.
Example: Grammar
• Knowledge: I am able to recite some rules of
grammar, but when I actually write
something, it might still be ungrammatical
• Comprehension: I can explain the rules of
grammar in my own words
• Application: I can use the rules of grammar to
write grammatically
How do we get to the
Application level of learning?
Learning to Solve Problems is Like
Learning to Ride a Bicycle
• You can read all you want about how to ride a
bike
• You can watch someone demonstrate how to
do it
• But you have to actually get on the bike to
learn how to ride it!
• Likewise, to learn to design processes, you
have to actually try it
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Theory and Application
• The course is divided into modules
• In each module, you will study some theory
• There will typically be a set of exercises to help you
understand and absorb the theory
• Then, you will have a project to work on where you
apply the theory
• The information is progressive and cumulative: don’t
try to skip ahead
• It takes time to absorb and internalize the ideas, so if
your are taking this course for credit, keep up with the
schedule
Excel Versions
• You’ll need a copy of Excel 2010 (for Windows)
or Excel 2011 (for Mac). You can get by with
Excel 2007 for Windows.
• We’ll make an effort to have everything
compatible with both platforms. Where there
are differences, we’ll point them out. Some
materials will be presented for one platform
only, where the differences are trivial or we
have already covered them.
Topics We’ll Cover
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General problem solving; intro to Excel
Naming and scope
Logic and conditionals
Procedures and functions
Repetition and loops
Files
Arrays
Algorithms
Some selected Excel topics