Google has many, many uses. From creating shared documents and presentations to basic email, it seems like Google does it all! For teachers, and homeschooling families, Google Forms can be a huge time saver.
Basic Stuff
First you need to create a Google account. This is super easy. You need to pick a username and input some personal information.
You can do this in an instant, or almost.
Next, figure out if your students (high school aged or older) have personal Google accounts. If yes, you can share things directly to their account. Some schools, including mine, provide all students, faculty, and staff with Google hosted accounts. Every time a student logs into the internet, they will be able to access Drive, and through Drive, Forms. They can also receive direct sharing of documents and other Google hosted projects.
If your students don’t have Google accounts, no worries! You can share via a link or through social media.
Create It
Forms are pretty easy to customize while still maintaining some universal features. You can change the theme for the live forms, and you can change the answer mode and make some (or all) questions required.
The creator writes the questions and answers. Questions can be basic multiple choice or more complex open ended essay responses. You can change the route of the test based on how a student answers. Once you have the questions all set up, simply share the form to everyone involved.
Boom! Just like that you have yourself a test.
Use It
So, you’ve made yourself a test. Now what?
Ideally, your students will submit their completed tests via Google. Automatically, Google collects all results and puts it into a pretty spreadsheet for you. It’s beautiful, seriously. All of your students’ answers to your assessment questions are in one place. No more flipping through dozens of tests to see how many people answered on particular question. Nope! Now you can visually see how everyone answered question 5.
Want to make it better? Use the Chrome browser and get yourself Flubaroo. This add-on allows the teacher to create an answer key for any and all Google Forms tests. Then the program grades your assessments for you.
Take a minute. Let that sink in.
Yes, now instead of painstakingly grading, graphing, charting, and analyzing your kids’ assessments, you will be gifted with a lovely spreadsheet with percentage grades already done for you. A spreadsheet that you can save and collect and use to track student growth over time. And it is for free!
Multi-Purpose
Forms is not just for tests, either. You can use this awesome resource in a multitude of ways.
I’ve used it to collect parent contact info at the beginning of the year. You can also create surveys through this or get reaction to a policy change or recent professional development session. Collect RSVPs to a party or event through Forms, and take the guess work out of who is bringing what. If you have data collection needs, Forms is the tool you want to use.
How do you collect and track data in your classroom or home school?
~Meg