Apple Numbers – A visual spreadsheet that turns data into interactive stories, charts, and creative organisers.
🔍 What does it do?
Unlike traditional spreadsheets, Numbers is a “free-form” canvas. You don’t start with a giant wall of cells; you start with a blank page where you can place small tables, images, and charts exactly where you want them. This makes it perfect for pupils to create lab reports, personal trackers, or interactive posters.
🎓 Why is it useful?
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Multiple Tables on One Sheet: Pupils can have a small table for their results, a text box for their hypothesis, and a photo of their work all side-by-side.
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Touch-First Data Entry: When you tap a cell, Numbers brings up a custom keyboard (numeric, date, or duration) designed specifically for the data you are entering, making it much easier for younger pupils to use their fingers accurately.
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Interactive Charts: You can create “Interactive Charts” that allow pupils to use a slider to see how data changes over time – perfect for showing plant growth or weather patterns.
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Smart Forms: You can turn any table into a “Form.” Pupils can then enter their data into a simple, clean interface that feels like a mobile app, which then populates the main spreadsheet automatically.
⚙️ How does it work?
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Launch: Open the Numbers app (Green icon with a white bar chart).
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Start with a Template: Choose from the Education section for pre-made templates like “Lab Report,” “Grade Book,” or “Attendance.“
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Add Objects: Use the ‘+’ icon at the top to add Tables, Charts, Text Boxes, Shapes, and Media (photos or videos).
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Format: Tap an object, then tap the Format (Paintbrush) icon. This is where you change colors, fonts, and chart styles using your finger.
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Calculate: Tap a cell and select ‘Cell Action’ > ‘New Formula’ to use the built-in formula editor. It is designed to be tapped, not typed, so pupils can easily build sums.
🚀 Beyond the Basics
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Digital Lab Report: Use a blank sheet. Pupils can record a video of their experiment and embed it directly next to their results table.
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Character Trackers: Use a table to track a character’s emotions through a book. Pupils can use the ‘Star Rating’ or ‘Pop-up Menu’ cell types to make the data entry fun and visual.
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Visualising Budgets: Give pupils a “Budget” of £50 to plan a party. They can add photos of items from the web and use a simple
SUMformula to see their remaining balance update live. -
Fitness Trackers: Create a simple “Daily Activity” log. Pupils can use the ‘Checkbox’ cell type to tick off when they’ve completed their daily mile or drank enough water.
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Interactive Planners: Teachers can create “Weekly Checklists” for pupils. Because you can drag tables anywhere, you can make the planner look like a visual dashboard rather than a boring list.
