Generic Google Forms

Teachers are always looking for a way to determine if students are understanding the material. Whether it's group work or direct instruction.

 Here is a good, quick way to use Google Forms to assess the "temperature" of the understanding. I would suggest creating some generic Google Forms. You can save them and use them frequently, by clearing out the response data and using them over and over. Below, I have shared two generic Google Forms that I use to assess my audiences.

I have used these forms to gather information, either in multiple-choice format or short-answer text format.  I have used a bit.ly shortener and QR Code to make the Forms accessible to the students.  They can use any device to submit responses - no need for those expensive clickers.  The actual questions live on the presentation of the day or written on the board in the room.

I also included an options identifier box, so if I needed to survey them more than once, they could include the identifier.  They could use a 1 for the first question, 2 for the second, and so on, so the data could be sorted or filtered.   It could also be used for the student's name, if results were to be retained.  I could then filter my data in the spreadsheet for the results of the survey.

One of the best features of Google Forms is that the graphs of the data are available immediately.  You can stop and analyze it right away.  Having a link to that spreadsheet ready, will make data analysis easy, quick, and very informative.

Create yourself a couple generic Google Forms and gather some quick information from your students.

Formative Assessment and Google Forms

Recently, I attended ITIP Ohio Google Summit in Sandusky, Ohio.  It was a conference of over 700 teachers and administrators from all over the state, and beyond.  It was a two-day conference focusing on Google Apps for Education and how it can be utilized in schools.

I was fortunate enough to be able to share on the topic of formative assessment and how Google Forms can be used to collect, analyze, and share the information with staff and students.  It's always fun to share how powerful Google Forms are for teachers.  Here is my presentation.

Poll Everywhere - Data Collection

I recently signed up for an account with Poll Everywhere, so I could see if it provided data feedback that could be easily accessed and set up.  I am going to give it a try with a poll at a presentation I am conducting this weekend.  Poll Everywhere is easy to setup, and provides the audience with three ways to send in their response.  Audience members can send their choice by text message, by tweeting to an account, or by accessing a website.  Because of it's flexibility, it should be easy and convenient for audience members to find a way to reply to the questions.

Poll Everywhere compiles the data live, so you can see the responses come in.  You can do multiple choice questions, T/F questions, or open-ended questions.  With upgrades to your account, you can even mediate the responses before they are displayed on the screen.  I think it will be interesting to see which online tools my attendees use most frequently - it will allow me to adjust how much time I spend on each tool.  It would be a nice way for teachers to obtain data from students, to help guide where more instruction is needed.

Poll Everywhere also provides educators with extra benefits, as well as discounted pay accounts.  They have K-12 accounts, Higher Ed accounts, as well as whole-school and district accounts.  Each provides added controls and features, but I am trying the free teacher account.  I can poll 32 people (which should more than cover my session - unless people read this and come see how it goes).

I'll write back later to share my thoughts and results.