AdGoogle Forms are one of my favorite teaching tools. I initially used them for tests and quizzes and used the key feature to have it grade itself. This feature alone deserves repeating- IT GRADES ITSELF!! The last time we finished a unit and the kids were taking the unit test online, I had the coinciding spreadsheet open so as kids submitted their quiz I could instantly see their score. I put the scores right into Google Classroom. I don’t think I have ever given such immediate feedback. Because kids could immediately see their scores, I also had kids ask if they could review more using Quizlet and their notes, and then try the test again. They seemed so much more motivated and connected to their learning because of the instant feedback. An idea I heard from a Matt Miller podcast was to collect student responses and then put those words into a Wordle or Word Cloud (I used Tagcrowd recently- Wordle seems to require a lot of downloading now and using different browsers), which makes a graphic image with the words. Words that were submitted more frequently are larger than others. It is a really creative way to analyze data. I did this with student responses to the question, “What traits make a good leader?” and once we had the word cloud then students did some self-reflection and picked a trait they were going to try and grow in themselves over the next few months during our class projects. I also used this idea at the beginning of a unit on ecosystems to find out what students already knew about ecosystem services. It would be a fun way to introduce a discussion about what is needed to be a good collaborator in lab groups. Google forms have been the tool we used at Redwood for our student ASB elections for the last few years. We have Homeroom teachers put the link to the ballot in their Google Classroom stream. We set up the form so they can only vote once and closed the ballot right after Homeroom. It worked so great and we were able to announce the winners by the end of the school day. I was so thrilled to not be counting paper ballots anymore! Adam Schoenbart’s idea from the EdTech website idea that I am going to try with my next project is to use a Google form to have students share their link to their project slide presentation into a Google sheet and then have students view each other’s projects and give feedback. It creates a database that can be used for the project with those students, but also can be viewed by future students doing similar projects. For my capstone project I need to collect data about student interests because I want to create affinity groups in my period 6 class which we are using as our Homeroom class this year. I want to plan small group SEL activities that students would complete in these affinity groups in order to build better relationships between students and to create a support network that they could rely on when they need academic help or just friendly encouragement during tough times. I will also need to use Google forms to collect student feedback / reflection on whether these affinity groups are making a difference for students. am Schoenbart Schoenbartam Schoenbart
3 Comments
Abie
11/8/2020 09:20:19 pm
Now this is the stuff I wanted to hear! I love reading about the practical uses for these tools, and I love how you are connecting these to things you've been discovering outside of class, like the Matt Miller Podcast, and EdTech. It really is emboldening though to read how you and everyone else are practically going to be using these tools!
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Janine Burt
11/9/2020 01:43:59 pm
Betsy, I love the Wordle idea. I've been trying to think of ways to use Google forms for professional learning and I'm definitely going to try this one. Teachers could share their reflections about topics and then we could see everyone's responses in a visual way. I really appreciate all the new tools we're exploring and everyone's experiences with them. Thank you!
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Scott Marsden
11/9/2020 06:13:15 pm
Betsy,
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AuthorHello! Welcome to my blog! This will be a fun place to share thoughts about teaching and learning. I am a middle school science teacher at Redwood. When I'm not teaching, I'm hanging out at home with my family or enjoying nature somewhere in the valley. Archives
March 2021
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