Saturday, August 3, 2013

Google Forms: A Few Ways to Use

There are a lot of online survey tools out there, and many of them are free. They are used to collect information (data) from others and consolidate it in one place for ease of use. They can be delivered on web sites, links, and even QR codes. The most beneficial way to use a survey tool in your classroom might be to use it for a quick survey or an assessment, but there are many other uses for Google Forms. Below are just a few ways I have used Goggle Forms.

Pre/Post-Test

Survey your students before you start teaching a topic, and you can easily find out what they already know. Then survey them after the unit is finished and compare the data. With the pressure put on teachers to show growth, this is a great way to have your own personal set of data to show student growth.



Self Grading with Flubaroo
Using Google Forms is a great way to assess, but do we really want to spend all that time assessing AND grading? This is when a script add on called Flubaroo comes in. By adding this script to a Google Form, the students' responses are self graded. Now students can take a quiz and teachers get the scored quiz with very little work! 


Exit Ticket
A quick Google Form can be used after a lesson to see what the students got from that days' work. The teacher can quickly look at the data and know where to begin the next day. 


End of Year/Semester Feedback
I always do teacher evaluations with my students. The great thing about using Google Forms is that you get the information stored right in your Drive. No more paper evaluations to lose.


Keep Students Involved/Interested
Surveys can be used to help keep students involved and interested in class. try using Google Forms for class voting, quick tallies, or just for fun data. Although our days are busy enough, allowing a little fun data collecting can help keep students involved and participation in class.


Classroom Information
Learn more about your students by generating surveys to collect data on "Get to Know You", "What You Like", "Favorite This or That", and more. I create a form for "Meet Your Teacher" day and have the students fill it out. This data can then be used to create a class roster in a spreadsheet with names spelled correctly and important information I will need for the year (birthday, address, previous teacher, and any other information you may need throughout the year.



Google Forms Tutorial (created by Bob Deneau):





However you choose to use Google Forms in your classroom, you will find it addictive. It will become so easy to collect information and have it stored in one place that you will wonder how you functioned without them. With how easy and they are to create/administer and how well they work, Google Forms will be an essential tool in your teacher toolbox.