Using Google Docs in the Classroom

Using Google Docs in the Classroom

By: Jonathan Street

ETC 585

Northern Arizona University

Google provides a free suite of applications that can be easily integrated and used in learning environments of all kinds. Google offers two particular applications that are the focus of this book--Forms and Spreadsheet. Let's assume that a school has Google accounts set up for teachers and students and that the teacher has assigned a project for the students. 

This book will explain how the teacher can create a form and send it to the students so that they can submit their work to the teacher via the form. The form can then be linked to a spreadsheet, which tracks and collects the students' submissions.

This is a simple and efficient way for teachers to view when students turn in work, tally scores, and organize files. 

In this book, we will look at a simple way that a form can be used by teachers to allow students to submit work which will then be sent directly to a spreadsheet.

Step one: In Google Drive, click on "Create," then choose "Form" from the pop up menu. In Google Docs, it is not necessary to save work. Google saves the work for you very frequently, and in fact, there isn't even a save option. 

Once the Form has been created, it can then be named, and a background template can be chosen. Appropriate colors and themes should be chosen, depending on the grade and audience. 

Next, (1) the form can be labeled as seen fit. In this case, we are creating a homework form where students can turn in an assignment. We'll label this "Homework-Mr. Smith's English Class."

(2) For the box called "Question Text" we can enter a question if we are creating a quiz, but in this case we will put "Name."

(3) If we were creating a quiz, we could choose from multiple choice, short answer, check boxes, or other assessment types. For our purposes, we will choose, "Text." Since there is no correct answer, we can leave the answer part blank.

(4) We want this to be required, so we will check this box.

(5) Then we click on "Add Item" so that we can add other boxes on the form.

In my example, I have added items so that my form has five boxes for the students to enter information into. I have created the following boxes:

1. Name
2. Class Period
3. Name of Assignment
4. Link to Assignment
5. Comments (Optional)

So that my final form looks like this:

As mentioned earlier, forms can be linked to spreadsheets, allowing for easy tracking of assignments and compilation of data. 

Here are the steps for linking these two documents.

(1) Click on "Choose response destination"

(2) Make sure "New spreadsheet" is selected and name the document

(3) Click "Create" and the new spreadsheet is made and saved in Google Drive

As we can see in the image above, the title of the spreadsheet appears in the top left corner of the document. We can also see that the boxes we created in our form (Name, Class Period, Name of Assignment, Link to Assignment, and Comments) have been imported into columns. 

Also, please notice that column A is labeled, "Timestamp." When a student submits the form, the date and time are recorded in this column, allowing teachers to track the exact time that assignments were submitted.

Using Google Forms is an easy way for teachers to have their students submit work. In this scenario, we can assume that the students had an essay, presentation, or website as their project. By creating this simple form, the teacher could email it to the students sometime before the deadline. 

Additionally, this tool could easily be used to create and send quizzes to students. In a professional development scenario, this tool could be used to send and receive surveys, or many other solutions. 

By having the information contained in a spreadsheet, teachers and instructors can save time and effort by having work saved in one simple location, and can assess student progress much easier. 

Glossary

Google Form: A Google doc that can be created from templates to serve as a survey, quiz, or other type of questionnaire.

Spreadsheet: A Google doc that contains rows and columns, which can be used to collect, sort, and analyze information.

Links

For more information about using Google forms, please visit this page: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/87809?hl=en