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Back to Excel/VBA for Creative Problem Solving, Part 1

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Excel/VBA for Creative Problem Solving, Part 1 by University of Colorado Boulder

4.8
stars
4,131 ratings

About the Course

"Excel/VBA for Creative Problem Solving, Part 1" is aimed at learners who are seeking to augment, expand, optimize, and increase the efficiency of their Excel spreadsheet skills by tapping into the powerful programming, automation, and customization capabilities available with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). This course is the first part of a three-part series and Specialization that focuses on the application of computing techniques in Excel/VBA to solve problems. In this course (Part 1), you will: 1) create macros to automate procedures in Excel; 2) define your own user-defined functions; 3) create basic subroutines to interface with the user; 4) learn the basic programming structures in VBA; and 5) automate Excel’s Goal Seek and Solver tools and use numerical techniques to create “live solutions” to solve targeting and optimization problems. New to computer programming? The extremely intuitive and visual nature of VBA lends itself nicely to teaching and learning - what a fun way to learn to code! No prior knowledge in programming nor advanced math skills are necessary yet seasoned programmers will pick up new and creative spreadsheet problem solving strategies. After you have learned the basics of VBA, each module will introduce foundational and broad problems inspired by situations that you might encounter in the real world. To pass each module, you'll need to pass a mastery quiz and complete a problem solving assignment. This course is unique in that the weekly assignments are completed in-application (i.e., on your own computer in Excel), providing you with valuable hands-on training....

Top reviews

MS

Jan 26, 2018

Great course! I like it goes straight to implementation and is practice-oriented. What could be improved maybe is sound quality of lectures. And maybe it would be great to have some VBA notes in pdf.

JH

Apr 2, 2020

Very good course with clear examples throughout to help you develop. The online format of the course is great as it allows you to pause and work through the activities presented at your own speed.

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76 - 100 of 1,182 Reviews for Excel/VBA for Creative Problem Solving, Part 1

By Dora L

Oct 20, 2018

I like the sequence of every class. It starts from the easiest part. It increase the difficulty gradually.

Suggestion to the course is: when we are doing some exercise to use VBA, we are not clear about the practice. Why do we need to do it? Is it just for us to get more familiar with the knowledge or will we use it in the future? Where will we use it? It will be more interesting when the learner knows what will they use it to do in their daily life and work.

By Richard M

Jul 9, 2018

Concise treatment of VBA fundamentals and demonstrating the power and value of the langue. I had struggled with self-taught VBA for some time, but this course led me through to a coherent understanding of how to usefully apply VBA to my Excel projects. The staff were also very helpful with hints that helped me past the few snags I encountered on the way. I recommend Week 5 - its pretty tough (for me, at least) but it really pulls a lot together. Many Thanks

By Tim M

Jun 16, 2018

Absolutely enjoyed the course! Charlie is a great teacher who conveys the content in an understandable manner. The length of the videos is neither too short nor too long. Also I really liked the assignments which are challenging without getting too frustrating. As for improvements, you could maybe spice up the PowerPoint slides in the videos a little (colors, background etc.). Other than that everything's perfect about the course, highly recommend it!

By Omar J

Apr 7, 2018

A very useful course for automating work and calculations in Excel by using VBA. The instructor even included debugging techniques that will come really handy as the course progresses and the code becomes more complex. The optional week 5 deals with using iterative methods to find roots and minimums of equations. If your work relys on optimizing and solving equations you can see how the last week, although optional, would be a must in your case.

By Jack M

Mar 28, 2019

The course was exactly what I wanted. Started with the very basics of VBA (along with a review of some advanced excel techniques) before transitioning in to more advanced VBA functions. Definitely got in to some mathematical functions at the end that I haven't dealt with since college (8+ years ago) but it wasn't too bad. The screen casts are all under 10 minutes but still very informative. Wasn't much fluff, just all really good content.

By Hayot R

Aug 19, 2018

I think it's a great introduction to coding for any beginner in coding. And a great introduction to VBA for people used to coding.

To me as an engineering student i sometimes passed some parts of videos since i already knew how to code in various language and knew the concept of loops, if-else, etc.

However it was necessary for me to start with this course to learn the particular syntax of VBA language compared to language I am used to.

By Mauricio M

Aug 26, 2019

Yes! Python is more powerful, true! But the MS Office package rules when it comes to office jobs. VBA comes included in that package and normally people love Excel. You could be the "sensei" / master of Excel by learning Visual Basic in Excel, Outlook, Power Point or Word.

My personal opinion: I have an exciting job cause I knew Excel when I was an intern. Now with VBA I automatize my knowledge. This course is very recommended.

By Tudor S

Jan 28, 2018

I truly recommend this course to beginners in VBA (although prior experience with other language is very helpful). Charlie is a very good instructor, he makes every step of the learning curve seem manageable. His quizzes and assignments cover all material, so make sure you know it all before doing them! This is probably the first Coursera course that is similar in difficulty and richness-of-content to a university course.

By Albert V R

Apr 8, 2018

I have found this course extremely interesting and I have loved week 5 too, which is optional.

I always wanted to learn VBA and I have tried on my own several times but I didn’t succeed. This course has helped me to overcome this initial barrier and know I feel confident to continue learning VBA.

The professor has always been there to help, and I have felt much accompanied in my learning experience.

Highly recommended!

By Eric L

Jul 11, 2019

It introduces the concept of VBA very well, I have previously learnt a bit of it and know some programming so it is a bit slow for me but I think for a complete newbie the instructor articulates very well. Also it helps students by introducing the use of flow diagram so it is not just about writing the codes but also have a plan before starting to write the code and I think it helps a lot when things get complicated.

By Babak G

Jan 15, 2019

I found these courses very useful. The courses exceed above and beyond any other online Excel VBA course. The instructor is a university professor who is a subject-matter expert, and explains the course material in a very simple and understandable way. Part three is a project-based course that helps learners use the knowledge gained into real projects and helps solidify the learning. I highly recommend this course.

By Valeria A

Mar 9, 2021

I would highly recommend this course if you're studying chemical engineering or any kind of engineering, it is going to make your career a lot easier. Also the course is carefully done, it really shows than the professor put a lot of time and effort into this. I learned a lot, and I've already put the knowledge in practice, thank you Charlie Nuttelman and the University of Colorado Boulder for this amazing course!

By Yang Y

Nov 15, 2020

Is a little difficult to know exactly what the solution was since it need to be exactly the same column as the answer. i have once put my solution as m column and the grader reject my answer even my code is correctly written. I have to read through the discussion forum to resolve the column a issue instead of column m issue. it would be great if it is written on the assignment itself to notify trainee. thank you.

By Irakli B

Mar 14, 2020

I liked the course very much, it was really informative and great for those who aren't familiar with VBA at all and want to step in this "field", Definitely going to take part 2 and I strongly recommend this course to anyone interested in VBA. One little complaint as the lecturer said himself is that there are fewer financial related cases than I'd like, but it doesn't obstruct the quality of the course at all.

By Oscar A

Jan 22, 2021

Se nota que el profesor pensó en cada posible escenario de cada respuesta, por lo que dá un muy buen feedback cuando uno escoge la respuesta incorrecta en los cuestionarios. Se siente la prescencia del profesor en cada tarea y cada quiz, cada ejercicio tiene un propósito. Los quices parecen fáciles pero las respuestas lo pueden confundir a uno entonces hay que pensarlo muy bien antes de responder. Recomendado.

By Zhiqing L

Mar 8, 2018

I strongly recommend this course to those who have no VBA experience and want to learn VBA. There are lots of VBA websites/forums, but they are not very useful to beginners.

A very good thing of this course is that Dr Charlie is teaching you to think in a "VBA way" to solve a problem, but not just teaching syntax.

I will definitely take part 2 and part 3. Thank Dr Charlie again for providing this VBA course.

By Caroline C

Sep 26, 2021

This course is very helpful. I have zero foundation in VBA, but this course help me learn all the basics in the shortest time possible. Not to mention, Charlie's teaching style is super engaging. The assignments are not too hard either, since Charlie is kind enough to put many useful hints. Overall, it was a very enjoyable learning experience for me. I think I will continue with Part 2 and 3 of the course!

By Shreyas S

Mar 12, 2021

Honest review as a Basic Python Programmer:

Initially feels like we won't get enough practice with VBA coding in this course. But to be honest it has exceeded all my expectations and all the programming exercises are mentally stimulating along with MCQs and if taken seriously like a university course, there's a lot to learn definitely.

Prof. Charlie is really a good teacher. Thanks a lot for this course.

By Anam R

Mar 7, 2019

Great course! It taught me so much, really amazed to find the power of VBA and all thanks to the instructor who shared such great knowledge with everyone in the world.

The style of teaching is very simple so beginners can also learn and understand. The pace of course and the way concepts are advanced is also good.

In some videos, audio was slightly low, it could be fixed, but it was not bad.

Thanks a lot!

By Jose A P A

Feb 26, 2021

Es un excelente curso para aprender macros y vba desde un nivel básico a intermedio. Las explicaciones sobre cómo funcionan macros son increíbles y te dan una fuerte base para aprender a programar. El material es muy claro y los videos se ha creado con mucha dedicación. En mi opinión es el mejor curso de Macros que he visto hasta ahora. Con mucho entusiasmo tomaré la parte 2 de esta especialización.

By Anthony P

Apr 29, 2023

I knew just about nothing when it comes to VBA at the start of this course. After taking this course I feel I have a solid foundation for learning advanced VBA programming in future courses. The instructor is easy to follow and the assignments are designed to challenging but not to the point where it feels impossible. Highly recommend this course for anyone who wants to learn VBA programming.

By Hoa N

Apr 20, 2021

Thank you so much, teacher. I never thought that the computer is so amazing and can do so many think that we want until I take this course. Just one more little thing, sometimes, your explanation is not clear and you passed something that you might think that was simple. But it was not, especially for someone who know nothing in VBA like me, I had to check on google to see what did you mean.

By Paulo S

Mar 21, 2021

The screencasts are very helpful and understandable. Mr. Nuttelman does an excellent job in engaging with the learner and explaining different topics in a simple manner. The quizzes and assignments allow the learner to apply and practice the lessons to ensure understanding and mastery of the lessons. Highly recommended for people who want to get an overview of VBA and its basic applications.

By Toshiaki K

Jun 24, 2018

If you get used to Excel, this course is perfectly for you. I am non-native, yet can grasp what the point is clearly in each term. One thing I want to recommend you is to learn the shortcut key combination firmly at first, like Alt+Tab, Alt+F11, Space to start the play, F5/F8 to run or step through, otherwise it might be tough to keep up with its speed in case you rely solely on your mouse.

By Alex W

Jul 14, 2021

An excellent course. Charlie did a great job of explaining the ins and outs of VBA, and following along with his screencasts really helped me grasp the material. The quizzes are challenging, but appropriately so - they really ensure you understand the logic of programming in VBA. I highly recommend taking Week 5, even though it's optional, just because there's so much good content in it.