Let Them Show What They Know with Google Forms

Goal

After completing this module, teachers will know the features in Google Forms that will allow elementary students to demonstrate learning.

Teachers will be able to create an assessment in Google Forms that meets the needs of their learners.

Content

To get us started, please respond to the one-question Google Form survey below. After you click “Submit”, choose the “See previous responses” link to see how others have answered.

Google Forms is an incredibly versatile tool for collecting information. They can be fun surveys, such as the one you just completed, or serious tools for assessing student learning. We know that assessment is an ongoing process and should produce a scrapbook, not just a single snapshot or video clip. Google Forms can be a great addition to your “camera bag” for capturing those snapshots of student learning.

Keep this in mind as you watch the videos below. By default, a Google Form is in “survey” mode, meaning you’re not assigning points, or applying an answer key - you just want to collect information. By clicking on the gear icon (or by choosing the Quiz option in Google Classroom), you will convert your Form into a quiz. Now you’ll assign correct answers and assign points, and you’ll have options such as letting students see their scores immediately upon submitting, etc. For students using district Chromebooks, you'll also have the option to use "Locked Mode", to keep them from opening other tabs while taking the quiz. Both of these modes have their place in your assessment scrapbook, but it’s important to think about how and when you would use each.

Primary teachers might be thinking, “Wait, my kids can’t use Google Forms. They don’t have Google accounts yet.” You only need a Google account to CREATE a Google Form. Anyone with the link and an Internet-connected device can COMPLETE a Google Form. You can even add Google Forms links to Seesaw! In these modules, we’ll explore how to create Google Forms, but more importantly, we’ll look at options you can use to make them a great way to capture evidence of student learning at any age!

You will find resources below to help you learn more about Google Forms. If you’re brand new, I suggest you watch the videos from start to finish. If you’re familiar with Google Forms, but want to find out about some of the more advanced features, feel free to skim through the videos to find what you need.

Primary Teachers Start Here

While this teacher assigns her quiz through Google Classroom at the end of the video, the process she follows beforehand is exactly what you'll do. I chose this video because she shares a wide variety of options for types of questions and also shows how you can have students upload a picture of an artifact to submit it through the Form.

4-5 Teachers Start Here

This is a good overview of starting a Google Forms quiz in Google Classroom. If you need more basic instruction, he gives a link to his one-hour webinar on Google Forms where you can get more information. Click here to go to that webinar.

More Resources and Examples for Learning About Google Forms for Assessment

Using Google Forms with Students - The examples in this video are a little odd, but it should prompt some good ideas about how you can use images in your Forms.

Google Classroom Quiz Assignments and Locked Mode - 4-5 teachers, this works on our Chromebooks.

Seesaw and Google Forms - This video is a few years old. With the new links feature in Seesaw, you could embed a Google Form check for understanding right into a Seesaw Activity.

Primary Math Quiz Example* 4-5 Math Quiz Example*

*There are lots of ways to use Google Forms for assessment in ELA, Science, and Social Studies, too!

Interaction/Try-out/Sandbox

Create a Google Form that you could use for your students to “show what they know”. Try adding images or adding the step that asks students to upload a file to show their work.

Send the link to your Form to a colleague and ask them to take your assessment so you can see what the data looks like on your end.

Explore various options for creating and sharing assessments with Google Forms. For instance, how could you use a Google Form to get to know your students?