In this course, Emily teaches essential Excel functions—from text and logical functions to financial calculations and data analysis—helping you enhance efficiency, accuracy, and decision-making skills.
In this course, Emily will guide you through the essential functions of Excel, empowering you to enhance data analysis efficiency and reduce errors across a wide range of tasks. You'll begin by mastering fundamental concepts such as formulas, functions, and cell referencing to build a strong foundation. From there, Emily introduces key text string functions like CONCAT and TRIM for manipulating and formatting data, followed by logical functions such as IF and AND to help with decision-making in formulas. You'll then explore common math functions, including SUM and AVERAGE, as well as statistical functions like COUNT and COUNTIF for analyzing data sets. Lookup and reference functions, including VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP, are covered to enable efficient data searches. You'll also dive into financial functions for calculating loans and investments, along with date and time functions to manage schedules and timelines. This comprehensive course will leave you well-equipped to manage and analyze data proficiently in Excel, whether for business or personal use.
Course Outline ( Free Preview)
Module 00 - Getting Started
In this module, you'll find all the necessary class files to follow along with the course. These resources include sample spreadsheets which will be used throughout the upcoming modules to enhance your hands-on learning experience. Make sure to download them before starting the lessons!
Module 01 - Introduction
In this course, Emily introduces students to the most commonly used functions in Excel, aiming to enhance data analysis efficiency and reduce errors in report building. She outlines the course structure, which includes nine modules focusing on different categories of functions, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of Excel's capabilities. Key concepts such as formulas, functions, and cell referencing are emphasized to lay the groundwork for successful application in real-world scenarios.
Module 02 - Text String Functions
In this module, Emily introduces essential text string functions in Excel, focusing on manipulating and analyzing text data within cells. She covers functions like CONCAT, TRIM, LEFT, RIGHT, and MID, which are pivotal for extracting, combining, and formatting text strings effectively. Emily emphasizes the practical application of these functions in real-world scenarios, ensuring students grasp the concepts for efficient data management.
Module 03 - Logical Functions16 min.
Emily introduces logical functions in Excel, highlighting their ability to return results based on the evaluation of conditions, which is crucial for decision-making in formulas. She covers essential functions such as IF, AND, OR, and NOT, explaining their specific uses, like the IF function's ability to categorize data based on criteria, and the AND function's requirement for multiple conditions to be met. Through practical examples, Emily demonstrates how these functions can manipulate and analyze data effectively, making them indispensable tools for Excel users
Module 04 - Math Functions19 min.
Emily introduces students to the most common math functions in Excel, covering basic arithmetic operations and more complex functions like SUM, AVERAGE, and RAND. She demonstrates how these functions can simplify data analysis tasks, such as calculating totals, averages, and generating random numbers for various applications. Key terms to remember include SUM, AVERAGE, RAND, and RAND BETWEEN, which are essential for efficiently managing and analyzing data in Excel.
Module 05 - Statistical Functions12 min.
Emily introduces statistical functions in Excel, highlighting their utility in analyzing data sets across various fields such as finance and data analysis. She covers essential functions like COUNT, COUNTA, and COUNTIF, explaining their differences and applications in counting cells with numerical data, text, or specific criteria. The session emphasizes practical application through examples, aiming to equip students with the skills to perform statistical calculations efficiently.
Module 06 - Lookup and Reference Functions10 min.
Emily introduces the essential lookup and reference functions in Excel, focusing on VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, and FORMULATEXT functions. She explains how these functions enable users to search large datasets efficiently, with VLOOKUP allowing searches in the first column of a table, XLOOKUP offering more flexibility in searches, and FORMULATEXT providing insights into the formulas used in cells. This module is crucial for students to master data management and analysis in Excel, emphasizing the importance of exact matches in lookup functions and the versatility of searching options in XLOOKUP.
Module 07 - Financial Functions11 min.
In this Module, Emily introduces students to essential financial functions in Excel, focusing on simplifying complex financial calculations for effective data management and analysis. She covers key functions such as the payment function for loan calculations, future value function for investment returns, and the net present value and internal rate of return for evaluating investment opportunities. These concepts are crucial for students to understand how to leverage Excel for financial decision-making and analysis.
Module 08 - Date and Time Functions8 min.
Emily introduces date and time functions in Excel, highlighting their utility in handling time-sensitive data, scheduling, and project timelines. She covers essential functions like DATE, which merges year, month, and day components into a standard date format, and NETWORKDAYS, which calculates workdays between two dates excluding weekends and optionally holidays. The module aims to enhance Excel proficiency by teaching functions that streamline date and time management in spreadsheets.
Module 09 - Conclusion2 min.
Emily concludes the Excel course by expressing gratitude for the students' participation and eagerness to learn. She highlights the importance of continuous learning and recommends further resources such as the "Excel Beginner to Pro" course and the "Modern Excel Analyst in a Day" for advanced skills development. Emily also mentions the opportunity for live training through Excel boot camps and the potential for certification with the MO 200 Microsoft Office Specialist in Excel, emphasizing the value of these resources in enhancing Excel proficiency.
Emily graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor's degree in elementary education and the University of North Florida with a master's degree in educational leadership. After 11 years of teaching varying grades (K-5) in Indiana and Florida, she joined the Pragmatic Works team as a Power BI Trainer. Emily's primary goal is to provide engaging trainings that help customers gain confidence using Power BI. When not in the office, Emily enjoys camping, the beach, cheerleading, and visiting family in Indiana.
