8. Use Coding to Help Solve Problems

In this activity, you collected data to make an informed decision about housing options.

You used a spreadsheet to record, organize, and sort the information you found.

Then, you used the script editor to pull a location from your spreadsheet and calculate the distance between it and another point of interest.

As you found, if a function or equation that you want to use does not already exist in Google Sheets, you can use programming to create whatever you need.

For example, maybe you want to insert a map into a Google Doc, but you don’t want to take a screenshot or save an image.

You could code a program to: Create a sidebar that appears in Google Docs; Retrieve a map from Google Maps; and Insert that map as an image inside your document.

You can write a program to automate almost any repetitive task or to streamline a cumbersome process.

There are lots of resources online that can help you find code for programs like this.

When you have a problem to solve--like calculating values or sharing information with lots of people-- remember that there are often many ways to solve it.

If a function you want is not available, figure out how to code it yourself!