Fun with Google Forms

I've posted briefly before about my love for Google Drive, but today I want to focus more on Google Forms. 

It wasn't long ago, that I started dabbling in Google Forms. Forms are an amazing way to collect information, whether it be a professional development survey, a student quiz, or a student questionnaire form. 

If you read my previous post, you might recall my student information form I created to collect data from parents at the beginning of the school year.

This form has been a LIFESAVER! All of my student information was collected into one easy-to-use spreadsheet! I use it often to easily access parent phone numbers in order to quickly make phone calls home. I can even access it from my phone, which means I can make calls on my long commute home, when necessary. (Don't worry, I talk hands-free!)

Self-grading quizzes

Forms are also an amazing way to create self-grading quizzes to assess student learning. Check out this video from Teacher's Tech for a tutorial.

Here is a self-grading quiz that I recently created about animal habitats.

docAppender

I also just learned about a useful Add-on to Forms called docAppender. This tool takes the information from Google Forms and sends it to a Google Doc of your choosing instead of creating a Google Sheet. This can be super helpful for information that just doesn't fit well into a form. For example, on my student survey, I could filter out the questions about a student's strengths and weaknesses to a Google Doc instead of storing it in a Google Sheet.

Check out this video from The Techy Teacher's Tech Tips that explains how to record student observations using Google Forms. Paperless observations? I AM IN!

These are just a few of the ways that Google Forms can streamline your teaching. What are some ways you use Google Forms?

Gmail tips and custom search engines

Many of us have a Gmail account, but if you are like me, you may not be using it to its full potential! Here are some useful tips I have learned to enhance your Gmail experience. Also, you will find a useful trick to help your students with their research by creating your own custom search engine.

Undo

If you are like me, you may have had a time or two where you forgot to add an attachment or you realized you wanted to reword something. Enter the Undo feature in Gmail to save the day! When activated, a small window pops up after an email has been sent. You simply click on the word "undo," and like magic your email comes back!

You can adjust the length of time you have to Undo an email. Simply go to Gmail settings under the general tab, and click the drop-down menu to select a different time.

Assign Labels

This feature allows you to easily sort your email and keep your inbox clean! If you are like me, you simply cannot immediately respond to all emails. Plus, there are many that you might want keep for later reference.

Simply go to the left side of the screen and scroll below the inbox. Click on the arrow for more, then scroll to the bottom to create a new label. 

After you have created a new label you can even assign it a specific color. 

Check out more on creating labels with this tutorial.

Create a custom search engine

Have you ever had your students doing a research project, and just wished you could filter out some of their results? Even using kid-friendly search engines doesn't eliminate unwanted results. Next time, try to create your own search engine that goes specifically to sites you choose.

Check out how to do it with this tutorial:

Here is my new search engine to help second graders research animals for our big animal research project. Type in an animal below and check it out for yourself!

Back to business with Google extensions and Google Keep

Hello! It has been a while since I have posted, but I am back and excited to be learning and sharing more about technology in the classroom!

Currently, I am in a course called Google Tools for Educators. That means I will be able to share lots about how to use Google (my favorite search engine) and all of its resources.

For instance, even though I am an avid Google Chrome user, I was unaware that the search bar is actually called the Omnibar and can do more than just a simple search. You can skip opening the calculator app and just type in your simple equations into the Omnibar. Voila! Grading made easier!

Google extensions

This week, I also learned all about a few Google extensions, and I must say I was missing out before! All of these are available in the Google Chrome Web Store.

Some of my personal favorites are:

• Tab Resize - This is a fast way to split out a tab and work from two windows. Really useful for when you want to follow along with a tutorial online.
• Turn Off the Lights - This tool allows you to black out everything but the YouTube video you are showing in class. It helps eliminate the potentially inappropriate video suggestions as well as the "Click on ____!" shout-outs.
• Nimbus - this useful tool makes taking screenshots even easier than they already are. Plus there are some added features like cropping tools and blurring features that make it even more user-friendly.
• Want to learn more about Nimbus? Check out this tutorial!

Google Keep

This week I also learned more about Google Keep. This is a note-taking program that syncs on Google Drive. You can use this to keep track of all types of notes in a very user-friendly way. Notes can be shared with other users, and everything can be saved and backed up on your Google Drive. This is a great way to take notes, share notifications, or give reminders. These are just some of the ways teachers could use it in their classrooms. Check out this video for more information on Google Keep.

Thanks for reading! Hopefully you learned something new! It's good to be back!