Week 4: Google Forms

Google forms is a well known and widely used tool by educators around the world. As many of you are likely familiar with this technology, this week's post will be focused on a specific application for google forms. For those of you struggling to keep up with data collection (specifically social-emotional or behavior data) or just want to get four hours of your life back each week, this is for you. 

In the past, "point sheets" used to collect data on a student's behavior or social-emotional skills has commonly been done on paper, traveling from teacher to teacher on a clipboard. Google forms will keep a running average for each goal for the student in addition to automatically recording the raw data into an excel sheet for record keeping. It even time-stamps when the point sheet was submitted! One caveat, however, is that you'll have to manually clear or delete all submissions if you are wanting an average for a given time period. For example, if you are wanting a bi-weekly (every 2 weeks) average, you'll have to record or write down the average at the end of the two weeks and then delete all submissions to start over for a new average for the next two weeks. It will still keep the submissions recorded in the excel sheet which is, again, great to keep for records. If you are wanting to keep a running average for the entire year, you wouldn't have to delete any submissions. 

This has not only improved my efficiency with data collection, but has improved my students' social experience as well. Instead of a clipboard following them around from classroom to classroom, which their peers inevitably notice, each teacher carries a QR code that when scanned with their phone, will take them directly to the student's point sheet. 

Click Here to watch a short video on creating a google forms point sheet. 



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