Some Changes to Google Forms

Many teachers have discovered the benefits that Google Forms can bring to the classroom. It can be used for quizzes, exit tickets, and rubric assessments. Many of you may already use Google Forms, but may have noticed some changes to the forms since school started this fall.

The new Google Forms looks a lot like the Classroom Interface. Both the question and response page are available from the form, yet you can still get a separate response sheet. Let's look at the anatomy of the new form.

From the picture, you can see that the form looks a little different than it did in the past, but it functions the same way.

If you don't like the new form, click on the running guy picture in the lower left and it will revert to the old form version (in case you want to flee from this change!).

Besides looking a bit different, Google has renamed a few question types.

• SHORT ANSWER used to be called TEXT
• DROPDOWN used to be called CHOOSE FROM A LIST
• LINEAR SCALE used to be called SCALE
• MULTIPLE CHOICE GRID used to be called GRID

The response tab allows you to turn on and off accepting responses. Clicking the Green box also allows you to create a spreadsheet rather than just viewing responses in the Form.

Whether you are a veteran of using Google Forms or a newcomer, once you get used to the changes, you will enjoy these new features.

Check out this video tutorial for more information:

Another Rubric Tool - DocAppender

http://cloudlab.newvisions.org/_/rsrc/1445871114197/add-ons/docappender/docAppender_lg.png

Welcome back!  I hope you all had a restful and fun holiday! One of my earlier posts this fall discussed the tool Orange Slice, which is an add-on for Google that allows you to easily insert and use rubrics with Google docs.  Today I wanted to look at another rubric tool called DocAppender.  This tool is similar to Orange Slice in that it is a Google add-on, but this tool allows you use a Google Form that stamps a rubric into your document.

To use the tool, you basically create a Google Form, add the DocAppender add-on to the form (which you only need to do once).  Then you can choose a folder where the student documents are stored, and if you use Google Classroom, this works seamlessly to include your Classroom folders.  You then choose rubric items to use for that particular assignment, choose the score, and submit. The rubric is then stamped onto the assignment you are grading.  It can also work really well for peer editing.  See the links below for some tutorials and more information.

DocAppender Site
Youtube Tutorial on Using DocAppender

Step by step instructions and examples for DocAppender

Google Forms Add-ons

Well, we have add-ons for sheets and docs, and they certainly make our lives easier when it comes to all of the extra things we need to do in Google, especially when it come to teaching and managing student work.  Now, in order to add even more flexibility and freedom, we have add-ons for Forms.  This will make adding those extra things you always wish you had (limits on how many responses or an end date for your form, not having to repeatedly remake questions all the time in forms, etc.  From a blog post by Saurabh Gupta:

Here are just a few of the growing list of add-ons that you can use today with Google Forms:

• formLimiter: Close your survey automatically, after a maximum number of responses is reached, or at a date and time of your choosing.

• gMath: Create both simple and complex mathematical equations along with graphs and statistical displays directly in your form.

• Form Values: Store and pull from lists that you use regularly in Forms, like a list of staff, students, rooms, resources or anything you want.

Here is a link to the full blog post.  And another link to a different technology blog with great information on technology for teachers.  Have fun making your forms, surveys, and classroom assessments even better!

Recent Changes to Google Forms

Google forms are a great way to do formative assessment with students, as they are quick and easy to make, provide results in easy to use and sort spreadsheets, as well as summary results in easy to analyze graphs.  Some recent changes make them even easier to use.

New features include:

• Search the menus to quickly access Form features

• Shuffle question order (great for formative assessments!)

• Limit responses to one per user

• Limit one response per column for grid style questions

• Create shortened URL for sharing forms

Here is a recent blog post from the Google Gooru detailing the new form features:

5 More Updates to Customize Your Google Forms

Google announced a redesigned version of Forms a few weeks ago, we hoped there were even more changes on the horizon. It looks like we got our wish with 5 more updates to bring even more customizability to Google’s survey tool.

A couple of the updates allow you to preserve the integrity of your surveys, by only allowing one responses per user and shuffling the order of questions. You can learn how to access all of the updates in the video, but it’s great to see an improved experience for anyone who wants to collect data.

The updates include:

• ‘Search the menus’ to quickly access Form features
• Shuffle question order
• Limit responses to one per user
• Limit one response per column for grid style questions
• Create shortened URL for sharing forms

*Note* – The video refers to ‘require one response per row’ for grid style questions as the update. The update is actually ‘Limit one response per column’ which can be accessed by clicking ‘Advanced settings’ while inside the grid style question.