There
are many different applications that a person can use to document the activities that they complete each day. Microsoft publishes an excellent software
suite called Microsoft Office that has
just about any style of application a person would need to document anything
that needs to be documented. Our
class was instructed to make a journal entry using Word, an activity
spreadsheet using Excel, a database using Access, and a presentation using
PowerPoint. Each piece of software has
their specific use and their unique ways to format the data they are provided.
Microsoft
Word is the software solution that Microsoft published for its word
processor. A word processor is generally used for documents that are
supposed to be read from beginning to
end. Some common documents that a person would
create within Word are journal entries,
essays, research papers, explanations of the files from other Office programs,
and special formatted documents such as newsletters, labels, or business cards. There are many advantages of using a word
processor to detail the work completed by
a person. The most significant advantage is the ability to digitally store the information that a person needs to record. Without a word processor, a person would historically write their information down on
paper which could then get lost or even ruined by spilled liquid. Another advantage is the ability to format
text using a variety of fonts, colors, and styling options. While Word has many different strengths, it also has its fair share of
disadvantages. The application is great to record information and data but does not have the functionality of
manipulating the data.
Microsoft
Excel is the application that Microsoft has implemented to create spreadsheets
to store data in cells. According to
Vahid, F. & Lysecky, S. (2017), “A spreadsheet application is a common
computer application for representing tables of data like text or numbers, for
using formulas to calculate data from other data (like sums or averages), and
for creating graphical charts from data” (section 5.2). Spreadsheet applications are used to manipulate
data using formulas. In the IT world, a
technician can use Excel to document computer names and using formulas; they can then manipulate the data to analyze patterns within the data. Excel is used
mainly in financial duties because spreadsheets can handle some of the
most complex equations and formulas needed to analyze
the financial records of a company. The
main advantage of Excel is its ability to manage
massive quantities of data and then use formulas
to determine the relationships between different datasets. A disadvantage of
spreadsheet applications is that they are mostly
programmed for manipulating quantities
and numbers. When a person uses Excel
for primarily text-based documents, they will have difficulties using features
like spelling or grammar checkers.
Microsoft
PowerPoint is a software solution that Microsoft created for making eye-catching presentations. According to Vahid, F. & Lysecky, S.
(2017), “A presentation app is a computer application used to create a
slideshow of text and graphics, often with animation” (Section 5.3). PowerPoint’s main file consists of the
slideshow. A slideshow consists of multiple slides with information
gathered from different sources. Usually, the slides contain text which explains
the picture, graphs, spreadsheets, or
other information that a person would want to present to their audience. Using PowerPoint, a person can input all of
their information into an appropriate number of slides and then add additional
effects such as graphical transitions between slides, or special effects that
change how the data content is displayed.
The most considerable advantage of
using PowerPoint is a person’s ability to add pizazz to data that they will
present to an audience. As well as the
ability to ensure the data being presented will not be easily forgotten. The main disadvantage of presentation
applications it the inability to
manipulate data.
Microsoft
Access is the database solution that Microsoft distributes with Office. Access enables the user of a computer to
store data in databases using labels that they
can then relate to other labels in the
database. According to Vahid, F. &
Lysecky, S. (20170, “A database is a collection of data organized to enable
efficient information retrieval” (Section 5.4).
Companies often use databases to store customer information, product
catalogs, computer asset records, etc. Any
data that a company can or will collect
will end up in at least one database. This allows the business to retrieve
information that is necessary to keep them
in business. The ability to relate data
with other more extensive databases is the main advantage of database
applications. Because databases are often filled with vast amounts of data, database applications are specialized in efficiently storing the information to keep
easily accessible and difficult to
corrupt. A disadvantage of applications
like Access is that they are not designed to present the data in a desirable manner. The software is only meant to accurately organize the information.
All
in all, Microsoft offers many different applications that a person can use to
document their days. Each application
can be used for that task. However, one
of the applications is best suited for
the job. To determine which application
is best suited for a specific purpose, a person first needs to determine what they will do
with the information once it has been recorded. If they
want an efficient means to track every single day and then relate the data to
other people’s information, the best
application for them is Microsoft
Access. If they want to see graphical representations of the time they spent on each task they completed, they can use an application like Excel to help them manipulate their
data. If the
person is teaching a class and needs
to beautifully present the information in a manner that their students will remember, then they
should use an application like Microsoft PowerPoint. Finally, if a person only wants to record
their day in a journal type manner, they can use Microsoft Word to record their
thoughts. Each has their advantages and disadvantage, but when a person uses each
in conjunction with the others, he or she
will figure out that each program plays off the strengths
of the other applications while they also
cover the deficiencies that the other applications
have.
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