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GSites - Websites

GForms - Data Collection and Surveys

Google Forms for Online, Easy, and Free Data Collection

In this world, data is king. Being able to gather and manipulate data is incredibly important. Keeping track of student information, conducting experiments in science class, administrative tasks, and all of the other instances where data streams through our lives.

The problem has been that data collection and analyzing has previously been expensive or tedious to do. Once again, Google has brought equity to the situation with Google Forms. Built into Google Docs, this form allows you to gather and understand data easily and from any computer with Internet.

How to use Google Forms:

1) Open Google Docs, click Create New, and select Form.

2) Title your Form and enter in any additional instructions you would like (e.g. make sure to answer in inches or all answers must be in complete sentences).

3) Now it is time to create questions for those who you send out the form to. Add a name and question text (e.g. true or false, coordinate points should be written as (x,y). You have 7 choices for question types:

Text: Short, one sentence responses
Paragraph Text: Longer responses
Multiple Choice
Checkboxes: Like multiple choice with options but more than one option can be selected.
Choose from a List: Like multiple choice but with a dropdown menu.
Scale: Set an upper bound and lower bound and submitters can provide a response in that range (e.g. describe your happiness on a scale from 1-5).
Grid: Like scale but with the ability to have more than one row or column.

4) Before clicking done, check the box if you would like to make sure that the question is answered before it can be submitted.

5) After completing a question and clicking done, you have three options.

Pencil: Edit the question again.
Boxes: Duplicate this question (so you can have it asked again or modify slightly.
Trash: Delete the question.

6) From there you can click the Add This button and add more questions or page breaks.

7) Change the theme if you would like.

8) If you are using Google Apps you can have the Form automatically collect the submitters' name (by clicking the checkbox near the top of the form), and if you are using a personal Gmail account I would recommend adding a question which asks their name. This will prevent duplicate submissions and assist with accountability.

8) Now to send out the form to those who need it:

Click Email this Form to send the form out via email. You have the option to embed the form into the email.
Click More Actions to embed the form in your website or blog.

9) All of your data will be collected in a Google Spreadsheet. To see the data, you can either go to the main Google Docs or click on See Responses and then Spreadsheet.

10) From the spreadsheet you can click Insert and Chart if you would like to see it graphed. Or click Tools and Sort to order it in a particular way.

Suggestions for using Google Forms:

Collecting Data:

I have seen teachers use a Google Form to collect data from a project. For example, students could use phones to submit their information for class averages and analysis.
Our school has a policy against MP3 players in the class, I collect data from the students about a Google Form about a band that relaxes them and one that energizes them and input this information into Pandora. I then have music to play in the class when students are working.

Polling:

Last year our ASB made the switch from collecting and tabulating results from their elections from paper to Google Forms. The difference was that results were released in hours as opposed to a day and much less headache.

More great examples can be found here.

I hope you benefit as greatly as I have from this technology. If you have any questions or suggestions leave it in the comments.

Links:

GSites - Websites

GForms - Data Collection and Surveys

Google Apps Tutorial Part 4 Google Calendar

As teachers we have so many demands on our time and it is difficult to keep up with them all. Additionally, students are extremely busy in this day and age with multiple classes, after school programs, homework/projects due, etc. Once again Google Apps comes to the rescue with Google Calendar.

First if you are migrating from your district's system or an older online calendar, GCal will let you import pretty much any thing so you don't have to skip a beat.

You can even add a meeting from your phone with a text or get a reminder sent to your phone, which is incredibly useful when you are away from your computer.

My favorite part is that I never have my students asking what they missed when they were absent. I created a classroom calendar (you don't necessarily want to share your private calendar with everyone) and placed my curriculum schedule on it. I was even able to attach all of the necessary documents/notes to the day so when a student is away they can stay caught up at home or when they come back. Just make sure you share your calendar or place it on your website.

It is great for clubs or task groups where a small group of people need to create a meeting schedule. You can send a meeting invitation or reminders to the group.

Google Calendar is the the glue that binds all of the Google apps together. Getting anything done is made so much easier when you integrate GCal into your lifestyle.

If you would like a more in depth tutorial on any of the topics mentioned just leave a request in the comments.

On a side note, if you are struggling with all of the demands on your time I have a personal recommendation of David Allen's Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. It not only makes it easier to prioritize but allows you to find more free time than you would have ever thought you had.

The final post in this series involves Google Sites and the ability to share and exhibit your classroom to the world!

Google Apps Tutorial Part 5 Google Sites

Here we are. The final Google Apps series post, yet last does not mean least. Google Sites is going to allow you and your students to share with the world what happens in the classroom.

To find this app, you will need to go to the top of your browser screen in Gmail where it says "Gmail, Calendar, Documents", etc. Click on the "more" button and then on "sites". From there you can add pages, links, pictures, and more. Most importantly, once you have put up your site and told your students about it, the information is there 24/7/365. Your students and parents can always know what they need to know, have worksheets and files, etc. which takes a huge load off your back (no more blank faces when students come back from an absence, no more having to reprint papers for students who lost them, and the list goes on).

You can go to the Google App Training link in the previous post to learn more in depth, or just click around the app. If you have ever used a word processor or Google Docs, then the website editor is very much the same and you will be able to pick up the basics pretty quickly. It is known as a WYSIWIG editor (What You See is What You Get) which means anything you type or add into the page is going to look exactly the same on the site.

So if you have never made a website before, you might feel a bit overwhelmed. However, I know from helping hundreds of students and adults make websites that it requires just some trial and error and messing around for a couple of hours, especially with Google Sites. It will take some refinement and it is ok if you website does not look perfect initially. You can always go back and change something or start over so the important thing is to just plunge in and start creating your site.

If you want more than just a bare bones Google Sites you can add some flair and flavor using the design templates. You can make as many sites as you like for all of the different needs you will find in your class.

One of the most helpful things about Google Sites (which is true for any the other Google Apps) is that unlike other website editors you can work on your website from anywhere with a Internet Browser and Connection. This is why so many people are making their personal and professional sites using Google Sites.

So when (and why) might you want to make a Google Site?

Teachers:

Post classwork and assignments
Collaborate on a wiki with students or colleagues
Share pictures of class events, projects, etc.
Share important links, dates (by inserting you calendar), video tutorials (check out the next post)

Students:

Your students can do everything you can do, but the main reason they will want to create a Google Site is to create a record of work for Universities, or potential Employers. Rather than having to keep track of everything they can upload it and then send the website link or download it all to a cd.

So I hope you and your students will create a Google Site and share all of the amazing things happening in your classroom with the world! If you need any more in depth coverage of a Google App, have a question, or a suggestion for a use for a Google App, please leave a comment in the posts.

Update: Here is an in depth tutorial on Google Sites created by request.

You will certainly want to check out the next post as it has doubled the amount of time I have in the classroom and drastically reduced the number of times I need to repeat myself. Additionally, it helps your parents to be more supportive of your classroom and their student. What is it? It's Video Tutorials that you can create in under an hour! Stay tuned...

Google Apps Tutorial Part 3 Google Docs for Document Collaboration

In previous years, I would create a document on one computer, email it to my department for refinement, someone would change something, email it back and forth and we could never remember which file was the newest.

I also had the unique situation of replacing the Biology teacher who taught me in high school. This led to my inheritance of 30 years of incredibly useful lessons, worksheets, project forms, assessments, etc. Over the course of that summer I laboriously scanned the documents into my computer generating thousands of megabytes worth of gold. Now the problem was getting it to my school computer and editing them so I could use them in my class.

Neither of these problems had simple solutions until Google Docs emerged. Through this Google App all of us can create, share, collaborate, and store anything that we use in our classes. Also highly important in this day and age, it allows us to generate less wasted paper.

Here are some benefits or suggestions regarding Google Documents:

Edit Anywhere: This is my favorite part because I know that whether I or a group of people are working on a document, it is always there anywhere I want.

Upload and Share: Whether you have a document, picture, video, or anything else it can all be stored in GDocs which provides all of the flexibility you need. With highly customizable sharing settings, you can share the files with your department, students, teaching partner, or no one. It is all up to you on how and who you collaborate with.

Versatility and Forms: You can create Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, and Drawings in Google Docs, but the one I have found that saves the most time is the Form. The form allows you to create questions or surveys to collect data that is stored inside of a spreadsheet. This can then be turned into a chart or analyzed as needed.

In one example, I created a student survey form to gain feedback on learning styles and another to collect their answers on a take home test (which I was able to grade far quicker). I helped create one for our ASB to utilize for school elections (and the winners were known instantly after polls closed).

The ability to quickly collect data through Google Forms is so powerful that if you sign up for a Google account for no other reason than this you will find it pays off immeasurably.

Bookmarks: An added bonus of using Google Docs and the Chrome Browser, is that it will synchronize your Internet Bookmarks on any computer that you have set it up in your settings. As educators, we come across so many great sites, and the ability to access those no matter what computer you are on (or never worry about losing them if your computer breaks) is priceless.

Paperless: With Google Docs I went from having filing cabinets worth of worksheet masters and lots of my computer's memory being used up, to being able to go anywhere and have my entire curriculum at my fingertips. This is especially beneficial to teachers without a full time classroom, or anyone with an absent student.

However, it should be said that you should always have a backup of your files. You never know what could happen and so you should never put all of your eggs in one basket. I scanned all of my documents and uploaded them to GDocs but I also have them stored on CDs. These lessons and files represent years of blood, sweat, and tears and to lose them would be frustrating to say the least.

Beginning your journey: If you decide to use Google Docs and want to move all of your old documents to GDocs you can use the Batch Uploader to get them there quicker. An important thing to remember is that GDocs is constantly evolving and improving. If you have a document that has a lot of formatting (e.g. tables, outline bullets) then you would do best to create the document in Word and then upload it to share, or turn the file into a PDF and upload it to preserve formatting. There have been very few times that I was displeased with the outcome but it is worth mentioning.

I hope GDocs saves you as much time and heartache as it did for me. If you have any other ideas, suggestions, or questions leave them in the comments.

Stay tuned because the next post involves the Google Calendar (never leave home without it)!

Google Apps Tutorial Part 2 Gmail, Labels, Filters, and Chat

Email has been available to the public since the 1980s and it meant just that, Electronic Mail. Send, reply, and delete was pretty much your options but slowly more and more features started to appear.

Gmail has it all, and while this post is limited to some ways it could be used in the classroom, it is well worth your time to discover all of the options provided to you. This post is also not a list of my "Gmail Ninja" tricks (e.g. how to keep your Inbox from overflowing) but I will happily do a post on it if someone requests it.

Without further ado, lets explore the power of Gmail for education:

Labels: This is Google's version of filing folders. We all have them, the places where the hundreds of papers we receive every day from our classes get filed. With Gmail Labels you can 1) never lose a paper again 2) cut down dramatically on paper usage. Gmail can save all of your student work to be retrieved an dealt with when you want to. I use this everyday and it allows me to never wonder where my student's work is because I can retrieve it from anywhere.

Step 1: Click on "Labels" and then "manage labels"

Step 2: Create the labels you want to use. I created one called Student Work and another called Old Student Work.

Step 3: Now have your students send you their assignments in an email.

When you receive that email it will enter your Inbox. To give it a new label click on the "move to" button and select the label you want to use.

That's it! Your student's work has been moved to the label and you can get to it whenever you want without cluttering up your Inbox or wasting trees. Once you are done with the email you can always Archive it or move it to another email.

I never delete any email I receive from a student or parent until they graduate in case there is a need to refer to it. Don't worry, Gmail gives you more than enough free storage space to do this.

Some other ideas for labels could be:

Parent Emails, Term Papers, Homework, Reports, etc.

Chat: Sometimes, email is not quick enough or powerful enough to get your point across. I have heard that 80% of what we say is through non-verbal communication, so you could imagine how frustrating or confusing it could be to just use email. Written and Voice chat come already installed in your Gmail account just click on a name (if you don't have any names listed, click the add contact button) and start typing to them. Or if you have a microphone you can begin talking back and forth as if you were on the phone.

The most significant use of Chat that I have found is through video chat. This does require a quick and free install and any $20 webcam. After going through those instructions, you can set up a video chat with your colleague, student, and anyone else that has a Gmail account. I have used this with Patrick Yurick, to create video conferencing with teachers on the opposite side of the country.

In an example from his classroom, he set it up so his Graphic Design students could create the music video for the band It's from the Sky. In order to receive feedback from the band members on the East Coast, these students in California presented their ideas via Gmail Video Chat. The final result was this amazing video.

Think about the possibilities, you could bring primary sources, authors, and experts from around the world into your classroom. I have seen Karl Fisch create amazing opportunties for his students to interact with experts through this type of medium (click here for an example). Coming back to the equity issue, we are no longer limited by our geographical location or ability to raise funds for travel, the world is just a click away and we can bring these to our students.

I hope that you have new ideas coming to mind as a result of these technologies. If you have any questions, tips, or ideas, please leave a comment below.

Next post: Google Documents and the power of collaboration!

Links:

GSites - Websites
GForms - Data Collection and Surveys

Google Apps Tutorial Part 1 Leveling The Playing Field

Here we are. The final Google Apps series post, yet last does not mean least. Google Sites is going to allow you and your students to share with the world what happens in the classroom.

So when (and why) might you want to make a Google Site?

Teachers:

Post classwork and assignments
Collaborate on a wiki with students or colleagues
Share pictures of class events, projects, etc.
Share important links, dates (by inserting you calendar), video tutorials (check out the next post)

Students:

Your students can do everything you can do, but the main reason they will want to create a Google Site is to create a record of work for Universities, or potential Employers. Rather than having to keep track of everything they can upload it and then send the website link or download it all to a cd.

Links: