Davidson College has opened enrollment for a free course titled “Excel for Beginners” on the edX platform, taught by instructor Kevin Smith. This introductory-level course is designed to teach the fundamentals of Excel to students with little to no prior experience.
With over 167,000 students enrolled and an approximate duration of 4 weeks, this program provides the essential skills needed to master spreadsheet use in Excel and unlock new professional opportunities.
Enrollment Requirements
This course is open to anyone interested in learning how to use Excel, regardless of prior experience. No previous knowledge of the program is required, as the course covers basic concepts from the ground up.
Additionally, the course is taught in English but includes subtitles in Spanish for greater accessibility. [Enrollment link here]
Course Lessons
Throughout the course, the fundamentals of Excel will be covered, starting with the basic structure and terminology of spreadsheets.
You will learn to enter data, perform simple calculations, sort and filter information, and use advanced tools like pivot tables and charts to visualize data effectively. The course also includes best practices for data entry, storage, and manipulation.
Course Content
The course is structured into four weeks of practical and theoretical content:
- Week 1: Get to Know Excel and Enter Data
- Orientation and basic spreadsheet concepts in Excel
- Excel data types
- Data entry
- Spreadsheet setup
- Week 2: Chart Creation
- Simple and grouped bar charts
- Scatter plots
- Pie and stacked column charts
- Combining plot types
- Week 3: Data Manipulation and Summarization with Functions
- Formulas and functions in Excel
- Absolute and relative cell references
- Sorting and filtering data in Excel
- Conditional functions
- Week 4: Bringing It All Together
- Converting data ranges into tables
- Making the most of pivot tables: simple tables and charts
- Maximizing the power of pivot tables: answering complex questions
- Course Project Presentation
Skills You Will Gain
This course from Davidson College is an excellent opportunity for anyone looking to learn Excel from scratch and improve their performance in the workplace. Enroll now and start mastering Excel effectively!
Upon completing the course, students will acquire key skills in:
- Data entry and spreadsheet anatomy
- Excel keyboard shortcuts and macros
- Pivot tables and charts
- Vertical lookups and conditional formatting
- Best practices for data handling
