Google forms are a runaway favorite for the educators who always seek ways to save their limited pennies and yet still use technology in the classroom.
Technology has gone through a great revolution especially for the field of education. It has given various new innovations which have made teaching simpler. Technology has taken teaching to a whole new level and yes it has made the boring dusty classrooms… the very colorful ones.
For instance, Google applications and services have contributed a lot to making the teaching work more efficient and effective. Google forms- one of the kids of Google has lately proved itself to be a massive platform and has taken administration and teaching to a whole new level.
It has also given new outlets to the teachers for connecting with parents and students. The question here arises how to use Google forms? From various surveys and polling sites, the pedagogy has given their thumbs up to Google forms. Google forms are a runaway favorite for the teachers who always seek ways to save their limited pennies and yet still use technology in the classroom.
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Therefore, using a Google form is now easier and efficient for the teachers in the following ways:
1. There is an easy and quick display of the responses after submission. Responses can be collected to a Google Spreadsheet which may be private or shared with participants and can be sorted and analyzed like any other spreadsheet.
2. A customized form can be completed in less than five minutes using available templates.
3. Inserting images and videos into survey questions which certainly make the form more interesting.
4. Multiple choice grids can be created which prevent respondents from selecting the same column twice.
5. Forms with pre-filled responses can be published.
HOW TO USE GOOGLE FORMS?
One can work individually or with colleagues. Google forms provide a wide variety of options that spice up the use of technology in a classroom. It is easy and great integration of Google Forms with other applications like Google Apps for Education, Google Classroom, and many LMSs such as Blackboard. But yes, before the exploration of these features it is essential to know and understand as to how to create and use Google forms. Here are a few ways in which teachers use Google.
Forms to promote and use technology in the classroom:-
1. Assessment Creation For Students
Assessment creation for students is a major function of Google forms for teachers. Assessments are generally created by using write-in, linear scale, short answers, multiple choices, and various other answer formats. It can also be based on the information that the teacher is teaching in class. It offers several ways for students to collaborate.
There can be the facilitation of online discussions between students and create group projects within the Classroom by the teachers.
There is also the grading system in Google forms when the results are shared which makes it all the more very easy for the teachers to operate and work on the assessment section. Here are five steps used by the teachers for assessing students through Google Forms.
a. Creation of the Google Forms quiz.
b. Creation of the Google Sheet for housing student responses.
c. An answer key is created by taking the assessment yourself.
d. The row containing the answer key is kept on freeze.
e. Conditional formatting is set before students begin the assessment.
2. Collecting web-based assignments test prep and exit tickets
A series of questions are answered by the Students to prepare for an upcoming test. These can be multiple choices, short answer, long answer, write-in or other forms of questions. These are shared with all students as a study guide prior to a summative test after being collected and assembled automatically to the Google spreadsheet.
A short quiz can also be created with questions, videos, or pictures that students have to answer in a limited time before leaving the class. The spreadsheet can then be populated on the classroom screen and the students are free to exit when they see their answers appear.
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A lot of teachers are fond of the niche function for the Google Forms app. Teachers also use Google forms for the collection of links to their students’ web-based work and then leverages Google Sheets to facilitate sharing. Therefore, the sheet becomes a living archive of our creations and learning, as well as shared notes.
3. An interactive lesson planning tool and the creation of personalized learning activities
Google form provides a multiple choice grid, which enables the students to view a quiz on the class screen and select the correct answers (by selecting generic options such as A, B, or C) on the form. This leads to a flexible adaption to a student-paced environment by the teacher. This is also useful as a formative assessment with videos where the teacher can pause the video when it is needed (and the class by watching the video) ask a multiple choice question, and students have to answer quickly on their Google form.
It also provides a great way to differentiate for student needs. The Google Form can be built in sections, allowing the teacher to provide varied optional sections that are selected depending upon the student.
4. Q&A and Reflection
The questions are arranged so that the students’ answers dictate what question comes next with Google Forms' easy programming options. This certainly, ensures that there is no time wastage and the questions which are being asked are more relevant and authentic to the students. It is also possible to add a skip option at the bottom of the section to skip a particular section. This feature is however of great use in inquiry-based classes where teachers may choose to cover optional material, depending upon how the class progresses.
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Students can also share their thoughts on a topic or a lesson and reflect their views by using a short answer or long paragraph option. The collection of these is done in a Google spreadsheet and can be made available to be reviewed by the teacher or the class.
5. Collection of Data and Event Registration
Teachers Use Google Forms to collect any amount of data for a wide variety of purposes. It may be to assess knowledge prior to beginning a unit, plan a field trip, collect contact information, whip up a quick poll, collect email addresses for a newsletter, and more. Google forms are user-friendly for the parents as well. Google forms are also used for event registration as students or parents signup for an activity through Google Forms and provide all necessary information that is then collated into the associated spreadsheet. This is certainly easy to view, sort, and analyze.
6. Feedback from parents or students
The very basic function of Google form is an online survey. Apart from being handy and user-friendly; teachers use Google forms to collect honest feedback from anonymous respondents. In many schools, parent surveys are created at the end of the year; by using write-in, linear scale, multiple choices and various other answer formats. It enables the parents to gain more knowledge, understand and know their child in a better way, in which they can also suggest if any improvements need to be made for the betterment of their child.
These online surveys are easily linkable, embedded or emailed directly from Google forms. The fastest way to search for the answers and feedbacks a teacher (or school) looks for is possible if most of the parents use email.
Google forms prove out to be of a massive platform, both for the teachers and the students. It certainly helps both of them to learn, gain and grow in a better and simpler way. It improves the technical skills of both the teachers and the students. It leads to better exposure to the students as they are able to know themselves in a better way.
Teachers also come to know about the students’ skills and in what their interest beholds. It improves the interaction and communication among the teachers and students and teachers are easily able to pay more attention to the weaker students. It acts as a medium to break the hesitation which students face at times and end up with the problem not getting solved.
Google forms break the barrier of boredom and make the classes interesting and the students end up thriving for more to learn. Technology is growing and is gaining pace at a faster rate, yet we are here to see what is there in the stock of technology for education in the future.
You should create google forms in day to day teaching in your classroom. Let us know if you have more idea to use google forms in education. Also how the use of google form in your teaching has changed your class?
