Digital Resources: Google Forms

When I started in the library, I thought about the systems I could use for all of the parts of my job. Many of them were digital - my card catalog, my ordering systems, my notes and task lists. One that wasn't was the method students used to sign in to the library if they were coming from a study hall. I decided to change that. I created a Google Form that collects all of the important information from a student via a Google Site I developed and puts it into a Google spreadsheet.

Google Forms are very easy to use. Like the other apps in the Google productivity suite, Google Forms are entirely accessed online and are stored in the Google Drive. Google Forms allows you to create a variety of question types (such as multiple choice, text response and checkboxes). Whenever you create a Google Form, Google automatically creates the corresponding spreadsheet where answers are collected. This spreadsheet is sortable, filterable and can be used the way any other spreadsheet is - it's just that the data entry is done for you by the form users.

The Library Check-In Form I developed.Note that not all questions must be required.

Originally I thought that my primary benefit would be not having to keep a stock of clean copies of the paper sign in sheet (easy enough to do, but not something I was ever good at). As I used the sheet, I realized that I had a way to connect with each one of my students every day. When I was a classroom teacher, I had a "Question of the Week" - open-ended opinion-seeking questions usually related (at least tangentally) to whatever instruction was happening in my classroom. When we read "Flowers for Algernon", I asked students about the value of an education or the nature of knowledge. Now, in the library, I use the questions to get a read on what the students think about the new library layout or to get a feel for what kind of programming I can develop to support what they want to learn more about (such as "What is something our community needs?" or "What kind of business would you start?"). I also developed a Google Form for a colleague who wanted to keep track of student usage of laptops from the cart assigned to her room. This form (embedded onto a Google Site) could be the first page students are directed to when they open their browser page. 

A screenshot from the Flubaroo user guide
(http://www.flubaroo.com/flubaroo-user-guide)

Google Forms is a quick and easy way to collect information you need. There are a few ways to share your form with your audience - sending a link, email or embedding. You can share the link for your form through Google Plus, Facebook or Twitter (buttons for these methods are provided in the dialogue box that opens when you click "Send Form"). Email is pretty straightforward - the form appears in their mailbox and can be completed directly within the message. Embedding is easiest to do on a Google Site (although certainly possible using other web page builders since Google provides you with HTML code when you select this option). 

There are also some tools that make Google Forms even more teacher-friendly. Flubaroo is an add-on that allows you to turn your Google Forms into quizzes that are automatically graded. Once the grading is complete, the scores are available for you to review, and you can then send students their score directly via email.

Students! Try Google Forms if you...

Would like to collect primary data for a project

Need to poll an audience over time for information

Teachers! Try Google Forms if you...

Want to digitize the assessment process

Need to collect information about your students (such as materials check out or sign in sheets)