Role of Applications Reflection

For this school assignment, I had to document a typical day in my life using the various Office applications. It started with a journal entry, which included a list of the different tasks I completed. Then, I had to place those in a spreadsheet, calculate the total time spent on each task, and display a graph. Lastly was a visual presentation to depict the tasks. What follows is my reflection on my experience and the advantages and disadvantages of each application for this purpose and others.

Word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and database applications all have many functions. Some of them are very similar. When looking at Microsoft Office, many of the functions are done the same across applications, such as editing font style or size. Once someone learns how to do it in Word, it will be much the same in Excel or PowerPoint. However, some functions are specific to only certain applications. For example, it is possible to manipulate data using a spreadsheet or database application. Word processors and presentation software do not do this, but displaying that data in those applications is also possible. Also, the purpose of presentation software is obviously to aid in a presentation. Elements from those other applications may be used as well, but the presentation software will allow for everything to be organized and displayed well.

To complete this assignment and document information about my day, I found a journal entry in Word to be most appropriate. This allowed me to provide the most detailed information about the different tasks during my day. A spreadsheet and pie chart was useful to see how many hours were dedicated to each task, and PowerPoint was a nice way to present everything visually, but details were lost due to wanting to keep the slides concise. For an actual presentation, I would probably use elements of all three. Everything said in a presentation does not need to be on the slides.

Each of these application types has its ideal uses. A word processor is best used for any document that is very text-heavy, especially if it requires a ton of formatting. A simple text editor could be used otherwise, but a word processor will allow for more control of font options and overall layout. A spreadsheet has many uses that involve lots of numbers and calculations. Even something very complex could be created with spreadsheets, such as a budget management tool. Presentation software is used daily in many businesses, churches, and schools as a visual aid in presentations. Databases also have many uses. Many businesses use a database to keep track of their employee data, and large websites use databases to store all of their content and serve it to their visitors.