Between lesson planning, grading, parent communication, and everything else on your plate, there’s precious little time left for what you love most: actually teaching. What if there was a way to reclaim some of that time and gain valuable insights into your students’ progress? The equals sign in Google Sheets is the key. This unassuming symbol unlocks the power of spreadsheets to automate tasks, analyze data, and free you up to focus on what matters most: your students. It’s time to transform those intimidating grids into powerful tools that work for you, not against you.
Spreadsheets Are Great
If you want to organize something, spreadsheets are great for that! You have a table and tabs to sort the information. I love that I can link to a specific tab by simply copying the URL at the top of the browser when looking at a particular sheet. Simply type into any “box”, cell. Tip: Increase column width or row height to better display your content. Set word wrap to keep the content within the cell.
Upgrade to Action with the Equals Sign
What really makes your spreadsheet powerful is not just being able to neatly organize text. It is the ability to control the content. The equals sign makes this possible.
In any cell press the equals sign key. = This allows you to tell the spreadsheet what you want the cell to equal. For example: Type =3+4 into a cell and press enter.
Without the equals sign you literally see the text 3+4. With the equals sign, the value in the cell equals 7.
Not Just Math
There are certainly many math tricks you can do with a spreadsheet that start with an equals sign. =AVERAGE(A2:A7) will find the average of the numerical values in rows 2 to 7 for column A. However, the power of the equals sign does not only lie in the ability to be a calculator.
sheetPusher Add-on
Created by Alice Keeler. Collects NO user data.
Push values to multiple student spreadsheets.
Lock students from editing parts of their assignment.
Use Quotations with the Equals Sign
Let’s say you want to display 1/3. You do not want that to be January 3rd. Spreadsheets love to show you how smart they are to automatically recognize a date. However, it might not actually be a date and then it gets frustrating.
=”1/3″
By using quotations you are telling the spreadsheet that this is not math and it is not a date, but rather, it is text.
The Power of Cell Referencing
Each cell has an address… like C5. This is column C and the 5th row. You can REFER to values in other cells by using the equals sign and cell referencing.
The rule is… only type something ONCE into your spreadsheet.
An example of cell referencing is =A5. This says, whatever is in cell A5, put it in this cell. The power of cell referencing is if you change the value in cell A5, it will also change the value anywhere else that information is.
My Favorite Word is Concatenate
Concatenate is to smash together. You can concatenate values in different cells by using the equals sign and the ampersand symbol.
=A1&B1
Now the problem with this is when you concatenate first name in column A with last name in column B you get … FirstLast. Usually there is a space, or perhaps you want Last, First. In this case, you want to concatenate with some text which you express with quotation marks.
=A1&” “&B1
=B1&”, “&A1
By using 2 ampersand symbols in your spreadsheet formula you can achieve the desired format.
The Equals Sign is your Key to Spreadsheet Power
The humble equals sign is more than just a symbol. It is the gateway to unlocking the true power of Google Sheets. Whether you are crunching numbers, organizing data, referencing cells, or even concatenating text, the equals sign transforms your spreadsheet from a static table into a dynamic interactive tool. Instead of spending hours on repetitive tasks, let formulas do the heavy lifting so you can focus on what really matters, teaching and engaging your students.
By embracing the equals sign, you are not just using a spreadsheet. You are wielding a powerful tool that enhances efficiency, supports data driven decision making, and ultimately empowers both you and your students. So the next time you open a new Google Sheet, remember the magic starts with equals.
