Readings
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Then answer the discussion questions found in your LRP
Throughout each Module, I will be sharing my own experiences on each tool and strategy using Google Forms and Sheets. Being a classroom teacher, I hope you gain value from the experiences that I have had using these strategies and tools effectively. My goal throughout this course is to share my methods of enhancing classroom procedures with Google Forms and Sheets, in hopes that you take away something of value by the end of the course! It is important to keep in mind the customization capabilities of Google Forms and Sheets. You are not expected to duplicate any of the strategies I share with you. Instead, think about how my strategies with Google Forms and Sheets can be adapted to your classroom procedures, students, and teaching style.
Google Forms is a free tool that allows the user to customize a variety of online quizzes, surveys, and polls. After gathering information from your personalized quizzes or surveys, you can then connect the info to a spreadsheet on Google Sheets to automatically record the answers. Google Forms works for any situation where you are looking for a response from one person or a group of people. All of the questions and responses are automatically stored and organized in a Google Sheet, which is ideal for any educator.
Google Sheets is an online spreadsheet typically used for data collection. There are many ways to use Google Sheets for data collection in your classroom, but in this course, we are going to primarily focus on using Google Sheets from the data we collect in our Google Forms. This course will teach you how to link Google Forms and Sheets for data collection. When the Sheets are linked to your Google Form (quiz or survey), the information collected from the Form, automatically gets organized in Sheets. The Google Sheet populates with the responses from the quiz or survey in real-time. This makes Google Forms one of the easiest ways to save data directly into a spreadsheet. Google Sheets have advanced functions such as sorting data, creating charts, and sending automatic emails.
With Google Forms, you can collect data, start surveys, or create quizzes for students with a simple online form. You can share your form via email, a direct link, or on social media and ask everyone to participate.
Since Forms is an online tool, you can share and collaborate with multiple people on the same form in real-time.
Many schools already incorporate Google products within their school system, and this is even more apparent with the recent change to our DOE email accounts from lotus notes to Gmail. The simplicity and convenience of Google Forms and Sheets make these tool and ideal resource in your classroom. If you already familiar with these tools, and are currently using them in your classroom, that is awesome! This course will provide you with specific strategies I have used in my own classroom that have made my classroom management a lot easier. Isn't that the goal for all teacher? If you are unfamiliar with these tools, don't worry, because this course will provide you with opportunities to practice creating a Google Form and Sheet to see the benefits within your own classroom.
Many educators who are familiar with Google Forms and Sheets, commonly utilize these tools as an assessment. Creating Google Forms as assessments is a powerful tool to engage students while gathering data on student proficiency. You will learn how to create your own quiz/survey to engage your students, which will ultimately lead to more on-task behavior and student achievement. However, this course is primarily focused on specifically addressing classroom management procedures. Classroom procedures include, but are not limited to entering/exiting the classroom, bathroom policies, writing a referral, or even a system for borrowing pencils. In the next Modules, I will introduce you to many procedural based strategies using Google Forms and Sheets.
Data collecting. Using Google Forms and Sheets to collect data has been very interesting and impactful on the way I run my class. I know this is coming from a math teacher, but data typically doesn't lie. I have used my data collection to provide evidence in IEP meetings, monitor progress/behaviors, and make adjustments to my classroom based on the data.
Accessibility. Google Forms and Sheets are FREE! This is always good news for teachers and students, making it accessible for anyone with a Google account and internet connection. Most schools in Hawaii provide teachers and students with a Google account, which makes Google Forms and Sheets easily accessible for all involved. All of the data is saved online via your Google Drive, which makes sharing information with colleagues easy.
Time Saver. While you will need to spend time preparing each Google Form before it is ready for students, time is saved on the back end. For multiple choice assessments, Google Forms can automatically grade them and give the scores back to students. Using Google Forms eliminates those stacks of paper on your desk, and organized all of the information on Google Sheets. When you create a Google Form, it is saved to your Google Drive, giving you access to the form for future use.
Organization. All of your data collected from the Google Form will be saved on a Google Sheet. This allows all the information to be stored in a single location via spreadsheet. You can sort the data in any way using the features on Google Sheets. The organization of data, without needing to do much as a teacher, is a major benefit of using these tools.
Customization. Once you learn the basics of creating your own Google Form, you can be creative in using it for anything you want. The basic use for school is typically a formative assessment or survey, but there are many other uses for Google Forms in a school setting. In the next Modules of this course, I will share some of the ways I am currently using Google Forms and Sheets in my own classroom. I have designed my Google Forms to specifically enhance my classroom management, instead of a simple formative assessment tool. I encourage you to step outside of the box, and think about ways you can customize your own Google Forms and Sheets to best support your student engagement and learning. You do not need to limit yourself to using Google Forms as a quiz or survey. Instead think about how you can use these tools to support and enhance your current classroom routines.
Requires access to technology/internet. If you or your students do not have access to technology or internet, then implementing Google Forms and Sheets probably won't work for your classroom. This may provide a big obstacle for some classrooms, but many schools are incorporating more technology in an effort to address our students growing up in a technology driven society.
Possibly Distracting. While technology and devices can be engaging, it can often be a distraction for some students. It is still important to have structures in place to address possible distractions, such as monitoring student use.
Preparation Time. Creating a Google Form is a fast process if you have done it before, but if you are taking this course, you may have never created/used one before. If this will be your first time creating a Google Form the prep may initially take longer than something you normally do on paper. However, in the long run, it will be worth it and save you a lot of time. With the amount of customization there is to meet the needs of your teaching style, it can often take teachers a few trials to get the Google Form producing the exact information that is intended.
With any tool or strategy being introduced into your classroom there are going to be some challenges. I always analyze my challenges to determine if the benefits outweigh the challenges, which makes for a worthy asset to my educator toolbox. For me, the benefits of Google Forms and Sheets far surpass the challenges, and these tools fit nicely with the structure of my environment, teaching styles, and student needs. These are all things to consider before implementation in your own classroom. This isn't to say "Don't use these tools, if you don't think it's going to work." Instead, I am saying to analyze your current situation and plan as an educator and what you want to enhance specifically in your classroom management. Try to focus on that specific area, and use Google Forms and Sheets to improve in that area. By self-reflecting on your current needs and vision, this will allow you to gain the most value from this course.
Google Forms Tips For Teachers: Donnan, Clayton (2020)
How to Use Google Forms for Beginners, Howfinity (2017)
Please reflect on incorporating Google Forms and Sheets in the classroom. How effective are you currently at incorporating technology? In what ways could using Google Forms and Sheets positively impact your teaching and student learning? Please recall a personal experience that you’ve had, either as a teacher or a student, in which Google Forms or Sheets would have positively impacted or changed the experience. How will the information presented in this Module impact/change your thinking on incorporating technology into the classroom?
*Please post your response below. Also, please respond to at least one other participant's post.
Remember to copy and paste your responses into your LRP.