The Most EXCELlent OER Spreadsheets Textbook Published (in 2025)
Marcus Lacher, Minnesota State Community and Technical College
Copyright Year:
Publisher: Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
Language: English
Formats Available
Conditions of Use
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
CC BY-NC-SA
Reviews
Reviewed by Reighanna Lynch, Academic Director , Trine University on 8/29/25
There is a good foundation for this book. However, it only includes a table of contents. There is a reference for an Appendix, but there is nothing in the Appendix when the user clicks on this. There is no glossary of any kind listed. read more
Reviewed by Reighanna Lynch, Academic Director , Trine University on 8/29/25
Comprehensiveness
There is a good foundation for this book. However, it only includes a table of contents. There is a reference for an Appendix, but there is nothing in the Appendix when the user clicks on this. There is no glossary of any kind listed.
Content Accuracy
The content in the book is accurate and error free.
Relevance/Longevity
The content in the book is up to date and is unlikely to be outdated. Even with updates to Microsoft Excel, the content should remain relevant to the program.
Clarity
The text is easy to read, using simple language that keeps the book accessible to its intended audience.
Consistency
The textbook consistently uses terminology appropriate for its audience.
Modularity
The textbook is broken up into chapters based on the material that is presented. It is then broken up further into subsections to help users identify more specific aspects of the material.
Organization/Structure/Flow
Some of the basic skills of Excel, such as freezing panes, were explained in “Logical and Lookup Functions” chapter. This skill should be explained during the fundamental skills chapter.
Interface
The images are extremely blurry and do not expand out to make them clear.
Grammatical Errors
There are no grammatical errors that I found.
Cultural Relevance
There are no cultural insensitivities that I found.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Disclaimer
- I. Chapter 1 - Fundamental Skills
- An Overview of Microsoft® Excel®
- Entering, Editing, and Managing Data
- Formatting and Data Analysis
- Printing
- II. Chapter 2 - Mathematical Computations
- Formulas
- Statistical Functions
- Functions for Personal Finance
- Chap 2 Sample Exercise
- III. Chapter 3 - Logical and Lookup Functions
- Logical Functions & Conditional Formatting
- Statistical IF Functions
- Data Validation
- Lookup Functions
- IV. Chapter 4 - Presenting Data with Charts
- Choosing a Chart Type
- Formatting Charts
- Scatter Charts
- Using Charts with Microsoft® Word® and PowerPoint®
- V. Chapter 5 - Tables and PivotTables
- Creating an Excel Table
- Sorting and Filtering Data
- Filtering Data
- Subtotals
- PivotTables and PivotCharts
- Importing Data into Excel
- VI. Chapter X - What’s New and Overlooked in Excel?
- Artificial Intelligence in Excel
- Solver
- Power, Power, Power – Oh, so much power!!!
- 3-D References
- Chap X Quiz (H5P Activity)
- Appendix
About the Book
"The Most Excellent OER Spreadsheets Textbook Ever Published (in 2025)" by Marcus Lacher is a comprehensive and accessible guide designed to empower students and professionals with the skills needed to master Microsoft Excel. This textbook is meticulously crafted to be concise, effective, and cost-efficient, aligning with typical college-level business spreadsheets course outcomes without unnecessary content.
About the Contributors
Author
Marcus Lacher is a member of the business and computer faculty at Minnesota State Community and Technical College, teaching both online and on the M State campuses in Detroit Lakes and Moorhead. He also serves as a Concurrent Enrollment mentor to several high school instructors across Minnesota. In addition to his teaching load, Lacher serves on the Shared Governance and Innovative Curriculum committees, and he is a member of M State's Center for Teaching and Learning professional development team. Lacher earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Minnesota State University Moorhead, his Master of Arts degree from the University of St Thomas and a Master of Business Administration degree from Southwest Minnesota State University. He has also earned the Master Instructor designation for several Microsoft Office Specialist certifications.