Last post was ‘5 Ways to Use Google Docs in Your Classroom,” so keeping with that theme we are going to look at ways to use Google Forms with your students and to help you with organization and paperwork. The best thing about Google Forms are that they put all information into a Google Sheet (spreadsheet). Once information is in there, you can manipulate it to sort, use formulas, merge, and using add-ons grade automatically. Also know that website like bit.ly will allow you to customize and shorten links for students to get your forms faster! QR codes will also work, but they will need a reader on their devices.
I had too much trouble narrowing down the list to 5. I got it down to 10. But 10 is a crazy long Blog Post. I have broken it into 2 parts. This first is for organization purposes, how Forms can help you as a teacher get rid of some of those stacks of papers on your desk that seem to make you crazy! My next post will be ways to use Forms with students.
Lesson Plans
I know that this one can not be used in all schools, some have specific requirements for lesson plan formats, but if you have the freedom to create your own, this is a great way to keep up with all your lessons and give your administration access to it at all times. Highlight that week and print selection if you have to post in classroom.
Example of lesson plan form: http://bit.ly/1RXCDDq
Example of spreadsheet: http://bit.ly/1RXCCzm
Parent Contact Information
Collecting and organizing parent information is sometimes a daunting task. On “Meet the Teacher” night or “Open House” have parents fill out a form for information. Have a few devices around the room as well as QR codes that will allow them to fill out from their phones. Also, if you want to get even more fancy, you could run a “autocrat” add on from the sheets and have a Google Doc with parent information of each student. This would be great for a sports or academic teams where you have to have individual student information sheets to carry to events.
Daily 5 Documentation
Keeping data of reading conferences by putting information into a form. All you information in the spreadsheet will then sort by name and you have a running data.
Here is an example Form: http://bit.ly/1TvOPLz
Sign Up Forms with Choice Eliminator
Using the add-on in forms “Choice Eliminator” you can have students or parents sign up for things to bring, but after you have a choice hit its limit, that choice will go away. For example, if you have them sign up to bring chips and you only want 2 people to bring them, after the second person chooses it, that is no longer a choice. Also great for putting in groups or signing up for projects.
Behavior Logs/Classroom Management
Documenting student behavior was always a pain for me. Having to remember after class, the forms to fill out, notebook to keep. A coworker made a form so we could record information there instead of on pink forms. The best part, we shared one form so we had information of all the students in our grade. So we could see if they were having issues in other classes or just ours. Also became helpful when contacting parents as well as sending the log to our admin so they know the steps taken for the students.
Here is an example of that form: http://bit.ly/1oDOCe6
The next post will be ways to use Forms with students. I hope you can see the benefits of Gogole Forms and how helpful they can be! If you ever want to learn more, contact Amanda or Channon to schedule training!
