This is an old school tip, but it is a good one. If you are using Google Forms to accept file uploads, register attendees for a closed conference, or just as a test, you may want to password protect the form.
There is a quick an easy way to do this. Watch this video tutorial to see how!
Recently, while teaching an online class covering Differentiated Instruction, several discussions turned to the topic of Interactive Notebooks. As a learning/study tool, Interactive Notebooks have been handy in terms of allowing students to culminate resources, integrate visuals, and prepare for exams. But as the digital classroom continues to evolve, finding ways to move Interactive Notebooks from page to screen have become necessary.
With the new update to Google Sites, this opportunity has never been greater. Google Sites provides a platform allowing students to create an online notebook that can include interactive and video content. Here are a few ways that you can create an Interactive Notebook using Google Sites...
Setting Up Your Interactive Notebook
The best way to insure that students get the most of their online interactive notebook, make sure to provide some guidelines for setting up the Google Site. You can walk them through the process or you may even want to look into developing a template they can use. In any case, here are a few tips on getting started:
A Page for Everything
If you need to add more pages, just click on the Pages menu and add it. Have students create a page for each unit you cover. Pages can include items such as:
A Launch Page -
Students should include information about themselves, as well as the course, class period, and links to each page on the site.
A Gallery of work -
Have students store photos of their unit work, or documents in a Google Drive folder. Then, add the folder to a Google Sites page. If displaying photos, set the folder to a Grid view for easier viewing.
Links for Study
When teaching a unit, you may share a lot of links that students can benefit from. Encourage students to save those links by adding them to a page on their Site.
Flash Cards and Study Tools
Do you use flash cards as a study tool? Try adding links to your Quizlet or Flippity Study Sets.
Videos for Teaching and Learning
Have students gather resources to help them study. Teach them to search and share videos that may help them prepare and supplement learning on the unit you are covering. YouTube has tons of great resources. Search for channels by teachers that cover the subject you teach. Help students understand the difference between a good and a bad resource before they start culminating a library.
Review Tool for the End of the Year
Once you've gotten started, you can teach students to create a new page for each unit you cover. Throughout the year, students will have a site they can use to build on and add knowledge to their understanding of concepts. By the end of the year, they will have a tool they can use to review for final projects and exams.
If you would like to grade students on the work they put toward their Interactive Notebooks on Google Sites, you can create a Google Sheet in which you gather and keep information on each student. This can be a launching page to take you to each student's notebook and allow for easier grading. Students will need to publish their site and make sure it is viewable by you. Then they can share the link to their site with you.
You can also create a Google Form you can use to grade each student's progress on notebooks. Each question in the form can cover information in your grading rubric. Use Linear Scale questions to rank students on each objective in the grading rubric.
Create a Rubric using Forms
Are you new to Google Sites?
Try this video to introduce you to the New Google Sites so that you and your students can learn more about how to use this versatile tool!
Very Recently, Google released an update to Google Forms for Business and Education users that allows you to receive file submissions with a form. With this new File Upload question option, you can receive:
Resumes and Documents
Project Submissions
Photo Uploads
Audio File submissions
PDF files
Spreadsheets
Presentations
Videos
Drawings
While Google Classroom works in terms of submitting files for an assignment, the File Upload option means that Forms users can utilize Forms for a wide range of submissions - from yearbook photo submissions, to Grant and Organizational applications. Watch this tutorial to learn more:
For years, teachers I have worked with have asked if you could set up a Google Form of K-2 students so that they could click on a Shape to answer a question. This request made sense, as for years companies that sold clickers offered handheld devices using colors and shapes, rather than numbers or letters to answer student response questions. With the new ability to add images to questions in Google Forms, what many people may have overlooked is that you now also have the ability to add images to responses. This means that the very thing so many Early Childhood teachers have been asking of Google Forms, is now available. See the Video Tutorial below and the following quiz sample to see what I mean...
Are you new to Google Apps for Education? If you are, grasping some of the more intricate tips and tools can be a lot to take in all at once. You need training on your time from someone who knows Google Apps! That's why the Techy Coach blog offers specialized online courses on Google Apps! Try one of these courses to get you started:
Still shackled to the big box suite of software on your PC? Want to learn the first steps to creating a paperless classroom? Unplug and go mobile with Google Drive. This course will help you become more productive while learning how to:
Heard of Google Forms, but you're just not sure what it can do for you? This course will walk you through how Google Forms works, from start to finish.
Learn the basics of what Google Forms can do.
Uncover advanced features you didn't know about.
Discover ways to use forms that stretch beyond basic polling.
You'll be making polls, surveys, assessments, and learning activities in no time!
Google released an update to Forms today that is a huge deal! In the past, if you wanted to add an image to a Form (quiz), you could do so, but the image would be separate from the question or question set in your quiz. The problem with this is that if you want to use the Shuffle Question Order option, you couldn't, because you could never be sure that the two would appear next to each other as they should.
Now, Google has added a feature right alongside your question, allowing you to insert an image directly into the question.
This course will walk you through how Google Forms works, from start to finish.
Learn the basics of what Google Forms can do.
Uncover advanced features you didn't know about.
Discover ways to use forms that stretch beyond basic polling.
You'll be making polls, surveys, assessments, and learning activities in no time! This course includes new tutorial videos and course materials, as well as links to a few of my tried and true, tips and tricks related to Google Forms!
Enroll by July 31st, and use the promo code HALFOFF to receive $10 Off the enrollment price.
Google just released new features inside Forms that allows assessment-style functionality without the need for an Add On. New Features are found in the Settings (Gear) under Quizzes. New Tools include:
Release Grade - send an email to students for immediate feedback, or manually review and send scores later.
Feedback Control - You control what students see when they submit - Missed Questions, Correct Answers, and/or Point Values.
For the full rundown on these new features, check out the video below:
One of my favorite Add Ons for Google Sheets is Autocrat. Recently, New Visions Cloud Lab released an update to Autocrat - Version 3.0. With this new version, users get a slick, easy to use interface, along with a few new features. As this new update is rolled out, I recently updated my tutorial on Autocrat to show how to use Forms, Sheets, and Autocrat to create a Rubric for grading Oral Presentations. In the past, when grading student projects or presentations, I had paper copies of my rubric scoring sheet clipped to a clipboard, and I would score each presentation, handing students their copy at the end of class. However, this meant that I either had to photocopy them so I had my own copy, or I had to fill it out twice. With Google Forms, Sheets, and Autocrat, creating a digital rubric means:
I can use a tablet or phone to fill out the rubric as students present.
I can provide students with immediate feedback via email.
I have a spreadsheet of all scores I can reference at any time.
I am paperless!
So without further ado, here is the tutorial on how to set up your own Rubric with Google and Autocrat. Enjoy!
Today, I made a run down to our front office at school to find some office supplies. While there, I ran across a large number of bubble sheets. I asked the secretary in the office why there were so many. She told me that there are a large number of teachers that use them. I asked why, and she said, "tell me why you ask, because if we can avoid ordering them, they are expensive." I then proceeded to tell her about all of the online options that teachers have for grading student assessments. She was unaware that there were so many options. So, as a result I decided to write this article, asking the question:
WHY ARE YOU STILL USING BUBBLE SHEETS?
Now, before we go down this path, I truly understand that in terms of assessments, the following still may apply:
I need to see the steps in my students' math problems.
Students can cheat when they use online assessments.
My kids don't have mobile devices to use in the classroom.
I understand how each of these may be true. But while only the first one relating to math may still be unanswered by this article, the other two can be, in at least some way, solved by these options:
If you aren't already using Google Forms, you should be. Google Forms is the best thing since sliced beer (or is that canned bread?). Google Forms, while originally thought of as a survey tool or means to gather information, is a great assessment solution. But as an assessment tool it works great in a 1:1 environment. Here's the rundown on how Forms works:
Forms allows users to set up an online document that users can fill in.
Users can add Multiple Choice, True/False, Short Answer, or Essay questions
All responses are collected and saved (New Forms collects answers in the Responses Tab). Responses can be viewed in a Google Sheet if you'd like.
Watch this video for more information.
Since Google Forms allows Google Apps for Education Users to restrict who fills out a form, and to automatically collect usernames when filled out, it makes Forms a great tool for Assessments. Plus, when you use Google Sheets Add-Ons such as Flubaroo or Super Quiz, all student submissions can be automatically graded for you. See this tutorial on Flubaroo for more information.
And, if you still want a bubble sheet for kids to fill in when they can't use a device to complete the assessment, you can always print your form as a bubble sheet.
Since Google Forms allows teachers to shuffle answer options, or shuffle questions, there is less chance of cheating in a proctored environment.
This one works equally well in a 1:1 environment, or one in which students have access to phones, tablets, or other mobile devices. Socrative allows teachers to set up quizzes, tests, or exit tickets using their Socrative account online. If you don't already have a Socrative account, you can use your GAFE account to set one up for FREE. Just use this link and click Sign In with Google.
Once set up, teachers can administer tests using the Socrative website, or Teacher apps available for Android, ChromeOS, or iOS. Students can interact and answer questions using the Socrative Student App available for Android, ChromeOS and iOS. Since teachers can randomize questions and answers, you can reduce instances of cheating. Here is a quick sample of how it works.
Plickers This option is great for schools in which teachers have access to a tablet or phone, but the kids may not. Plickers is an app available for Android and iOS, that uses QR-style codes to gather responses from students. The Plickers app can be used to scan the room for responses to questions that teachers create. Each student has their own set of cards used to respond to questions (See below). Students are assigned to a specific Card Number. Depending on which way the card is oriented, the app will pick up the student's answer.
Responses are collected by the app and saved to your Plickers account. Cards can be printed from the Plickers website. Get started by visiting http://plickers.com
For bubble sheet users, this may be an appealing option. ZipGrade is an app available for Android and iOS. While this is a paid app, it is still very economical. Here's how it works:
Users can pay $1.99 for 2 months, $6.99/Year, or a one time fee of $12.99 (iOS only).
If you are a life science teacher, then surely at one time, you have taught the concept of Classification Systems and Dichotomous Keys. A Dichotomous Key is a tool that can be used to identify a living thing or object based on physical characteristics.
In thinking on this topic, while preparing for a GAFE Workshop for Science Teachers, I thought I'd put together a Tutorial Video that explains how to make a Key using Google Forms. The great thing about Forms is that there is an option for Multiple Choice questions call "Go to Section Based on Answer". By using this feature, you can direct the user to the next question by using their response to the question. Perfect for a Dichotomous Key.
Techy Coach Video Tutorials are now available to users as a Chrome Extension. Now you can access tutorials through a popup window, allowing you to work while you learn.
Have you ever created a Google Form and wished you could add someone else with editing rights? Or have you created a Form in one account (say a personal Gmail account) and then wished you had created it in another account (your GAFE account, for instance)? You've probably noticed that there is no SHARE button on Google Forms. But you CAN still share a form with someone else. All you have to do is Add a Collaborator to your form.
To do this in the OLD Google Forms:
Click on the File Menu in Forms and Click Add Collaborators.
In the Invite People section, add the email address of the person you want to share your form with, along with the level of permissions you wish to grant.
Click Send and then Click Done.
In the New Google Forms:
Click the More icon
Choose Add Collaborators
In the Invite People section, add the email address of the person you want to share your form with, along with the level of permissions you wish to grant.
This week, Kathi Smith from Omaha, Nebraska asked the following question about Google Forms and Flubaroo:
"Is there a way in Flubaroo - or another add-on - where the question responses can be weighted. Answer 1 worth 3pts.; Answer 2 worth 2 pts., etc."
The quick answer to this question is, "YES!" Here's how...remember that Flubaroo is an Add On that grades Google Form submissions that show up in your Form Response Sheet (Google Sheets). To use Flubaroo:
Click on the Add Ons menu of your Google Response Sheet
Choose Grade Assignment.
From there, you will answer a few prompts to setup grading. One of these prompts addresses the questions in your form. In this step, you can choose the point value to assign each question. You can choose any value between 1 and 10.
This allows you to weight certain questions more than others. After this step, you simply continue with your grade setup and you are on your way. If you've never used Flubaroo, and you need more information on using it for the first time, watch the tutorial below. If you have other questions for the Techy Coach, use this link.
As I spend this month overhauling and updating the Techy Coach Blog, I'll be shining the spotlight on tutorial videos that each focus on a specific Google App.
For today, we'll take a look at Google Forms. Often overlooked and misunderstood by new GAFE users, Google Forms can be an extremely powerful tool. With Google Forms, users can create:
Surveys for gathering information
Registration forms for clubs and teams
Evaluation Forms linked to a Certificate of Attendance
Quizzes and Tests
Forms for plotting locations into a Google Map
That's quite a list, but there are many more applications if you just apply a little creativity. If you need a jump start to see what you can do, use the YouTube Playlist below, or click over to the Google Forms page in this site.
Several months ago, Google issued a preview of the New Google Forms. While users could work with Forms in the new look, they still had an option to switch back to the Old Forms if they weren't quite ready for the change. Starting today, Google Forms officially has been updated to default to the New Google Forms interface. If you have been putting off the transition to the new Forms and you are not yet familiar with the new look and feel, don't worry! We've got you covered. Take a look at the New Google Forms in this video tutorial It'll help you ease into the change.
The New Forms does offer a few changes, including:
Form AddOns and Script
You can access AddOns by clicking on the Puzzle Piece at the top of the screen
Ability to View Individual Responses from the Editor
Assessments and Grading - Flubaroo -This AddOn for Google Sheets allows you to grade a spreadsheet of answers from a Google Forms Quiz. Watch this tutorial -
MadLibs & Google Forms - Autocrat is a great addon for Google Sheets (using the response sheet for a google form). This tool will merge responses from a Google Form with any Google Doc containing merge tags (<<>>). This allows for a wide range of applications including MadLibs! - Watch this tutorial-
But seriously, you can also use Autocrat for other purposes such as enrollment forms, club information, etc... - Watch this tutorial -
Do you remember Mad Libs? They were those funny little stories that had parts of speech missing from them, and the gist behind them was to substitute random words for those parts of speech to see what fun ensued. Have you ever thought about making your own? Or thought of the possibility of applying the same method to help kids learn a topic in your Social Studies, Science, or ELA class? Maybe if you turned a passage from classic literature or a creative writing class into a Mad Lib exercise, your kids might just have enough fun that the learnin' sticks. Its pretty easy to make your own with a Google Form. This tutorial, along with the Autocrat AddOn for Google Sheets can help you make it happen. Just watch!
If you are a new Google Drive user, you may need the help of a handy cheat sheet. Try this one on for size. If you need extra help, you can also find some useful tutorials on my webpage. Happy Googling! Click the image below to download...
Google released a new look and feel to Google Forms back in September, but if you haven't made the change yet, take a look at this video that highlights some of the changes. The new look is aligned with the look and feel of Google Drive and Classroom. You may find something you like!
This is an old school tip, but it is a good one. If you are using Google Forms to accept file uploads, register attendees for a closed conference, or just as a test, you may want to password protect the form. 
Now, Google has added a feature right alongside your question, allowing you to insert an image directly into the question. 
As this new update is rolled out, I recently updated my tutorial on Autocrat to show how to use Forms, Sheets, and Autocrat to create a Rubric for grading Oral Presentations.
the kids may not. Plickers is an app available for Android and iOS, that uses QR-style codes to gather responses from students. The Plickers app can be used to scan the room for responses to questions that teachers create. Each student has their own set of cards used to respond to questions (See below). Students are assigned to a specific Card Number. Depending on which way the card is oriented, the app will pick up the student's answer. 
