Victory Nnajekwu

It’s a new season of EXCEL101 and Week 1 just wrapped up. And honestly? This cohort came ready. We started from the foundations: Workbook vs Worksheet, the Excel grid, Ribbon, Name Box, Formula Bar — the kind of things many people skip because they “already know Excel.” But foundations matter. One of the biggest moments this week was watching students realise the difference between: *what a cell displays * and what the Formula Bar actually contains. That tiny distinction alone explains a lot of spreadsheet confusion people struggle with for years. We also explored: Data Types, Cell References, Navigation Shortcuts, AutoFill & Flash Fill, Number Formatting, Data Validation, Conditional Formatting, Freeze Panes and Workbook Organisation Cell references especially decided to bring that to the first week Understanding the difference between: =A1 =A$1 =$A$1 …is one of those concepts that separates someone who *uses* Excel from someone who actually *understands* Excel. We also had a really good conversation comparing Excel vs Google Sheets, not from a “which is better?” perspective, but from a workflow perspective. A lot of students were surprised to see that the skills transfer directly across both platforms, especially those working in Google Workspace environments. Then came the assignment and Wednesday Class By @TheBoyAnalyst 🛒 **Retail Inventory & Sales Tracker** Students had to: * Build a tracker from scratch * Apply Data Validation * Use Conditional Formatting * Apply formulas * Submit in both Excel and Google Sheets * Write a short report explaining their process Because building something is one skill. Explaining your process clearly is another.