Excel can make Crossword Puzzles?!

As you can see with my title I had no clue I could make a crossword puzzle in Excel. I was a bit hesitant due to the fact I never use Excel and was not sure how it would turn out. However; the directions Dr. S gave from the Microsoft Website were great and it was quite easy once I figured out where all the tools were to make a puzzle. I made mine on Thanksgiving because last semester I did a 70 pg unit plan on "The First Americans" and had to have a vocabulary list included in my plan; but I did not have a crossword puzzle with it. I actually wanted to do one; but had no idea how to. For me this was not only useful to add to my unit plan; but also because I never use Excel and had no idea what features it had. I do think this is the best way to have students learn a program and its uses instead of having a teacher or a book tell them what to click and how to enter in numbers and words. I had to do that for Experimental Psychology and as you can tell from reading this I didn't remember a thing.

The students do not realize that they are learning about a program/software because they are concentrating on the activity and once they do learn it, they will have fun adding colors and pictures to the assignment. As well as being able to use the tools in the future. I also think this is the best way to have students increase their vocabulary knowledge and learn how to use Excel. I didn't know how to do it so how could I help a future student of mine or incorporate the software in my lesson plan if I am unsure myself? I feel that educators need to open themselves up to all technology has to offer because our students will be the ones hurting in the end.

The only thing about the Excel program I didn't like was that it was tedious and time consuming. One also has to really think about the placement of the letters in the words of a crossword puzzle and how many boxes one will need. I think the crossword puzzle I made using Variety Games was much easier because all I had to do was type in the answers and the clues and it did everything else. However; it lacks the creativity and the knowledge of using a program like Excel and students need to increase their knowledge of what is available and compare and contrast the positives and negatives so they have more options to choose from.