Thursday, April 28, 2011

MrSchwen's Google Forms Assessment System




  • Click here for some formal instructions on setting up your initial Google Forms Assessment template.
  • Once you have the template set up, click here for some instructions walking you through making a copy to use for your first assessment. *I hope to get some advanced feature videos posted at the end of this document soon. 

See my other related blog posts for more written information on the idea. (like the Template Overview post

Main points
1. Only edit cells in the template that are highlighted in yellow
2. If requiring people to login, check the box that will require users to login in the "edit form" section

If you aren't sure about this and want to play with a sheet with some data already preloaded, make a copy of this sheet: Sample Student Data worksheet


If you plan to use the forms to assess people that will need to login to Google, use this template (this may only work for Google's .edu users):

If you plan to use the forms to assess people that do not need to login or have Google .edu accounts, use this template:

27 comments:

  1. This is AMAZING. The data! OH THE DATA! My only questions is as follows: Have you tried Moodle for Homework/Quiz/Tests. How are the pros/cons with going with your method compared with using Moodle to grade assignments and gather data? I just took a course on Moodle and was preparing to go 100% Moodle next year. Now I stumble upon the Google Forms Assessment System and I'm rethinking Moodle for next year. I would love to know what your opinions are!

    ReplyDelete
  2. When you take tests in class, how do you get students to submit their answers to the form? Do you go to the computer lab? Do they take turns with the 1 or 2 computers in class? Do you have a class set of iPod Touches? I know you said you would like a set of iPads or Xooms. How would the forms work on a small screen like iPods? I understand if they are doing homework they can just fill out the form at home. Have you run into any issues with students that do not have internet access? How did you handle this issue?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Rick. Currently we use iPods to submit tests (our school has 1 set). In a pinch I could see using a couple classroom computers and have students submit them when they finish but the ipods have worked great for the process. I have also started allowing students to bring their own technology as well. The students without web access come in before class starts or during passing time to enter their homework quiz results. I also our school library before/after school as an option and remind them the public library is also a good place to access the internet.
    I went to a moodle session last year to see if it'd be easier and I didn't like having 10+ options that I needed to customize for every single question. Since I was doing these assessments on a more regular basis I needed something that was easier to set up. I'm not sure what moodle has for data analysis compared to this. I've been using a course document made in google that acts like a table of contents. Students open that up and then navigate to the chapter page we're in. That page then contains links to the digital textbook, homework quiz links along with concept video links I've recorded through screenr.com. There have been days where I sit back and watch it happening in class and love that the technology has come this far.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Have you tried assigning digital Lectures as homework, allowing time in class to be focused on intervention, extension, practice work, and projects? If so, how successful was it for you? I have been thinking of assigning digital lectures but I need to work out an accountability system to ensure that students actually watch the lectures. Questions immediately after or posting the video to a sight that tracks how long a user watches the lecture. Right now my concept was to have Exit Quizzes for them to take as they leave the room each day and use them as formative assessment data collection to determine their EQ scores. EQ scores would be used to determine needed interventions. Google Forms will make the determination of EQ scores all that easier! Maybe I could have students that an EQ after watching the digital lecture.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You are doing everything I have dreamed about and you are doing it better than I imagined. You are Yoda. Thank you for all the resources you posted on your teaching with technology blog. You have at least one stalker now. Beware.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've been doing digital lectures (about 3-4 per lesson) and have a self-paced element to class now using the ipods. I'll work with a small group of students who still prefer that but it's freed me up to working with the kids that need the most help while the others that want to move ahead can. Thanks for the compliments, I appreciate them!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm extremely impressed! I found your blog by pure accident on through some links on Twitter and am excited about the work you are doing! I'm an administrator in a district that is moving to Google accounts for our high school students this fall and the assessment piece that you have in place is exactly the kind of assessment tool I have been looking for, for our staff. Keep up the great work you do for kids and teachers alike! We need more talented young teachers like you in the business!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks Jon! It's been fun to have such powerful tools like Google to be able to finally put the ideas I've had in place so easily. I've put a lot of work into trying to make it usable for others as well so hopefully that is the case.

    ReplyDelete
  9. First of all, thanks so much for doing all this work and sharing it! Second, I got lost at the step where you paste into cell d11 - I am not seeing the same excel sheet as is displayed in your instructions, and my cell d11 is just blank. Third - I am a math teacher also, and a middle-aged tech junkie who REALLY wants (NEEDS) to get this to work but needs some serious hand-holding! It took me a LONG time to get this far...your instructions are great but I need things explained to me real slow like...thanks again!
    audrey-mcsquared

    ReplyDelete
  10. Audrey: 1) Thank you. 2) Are you in the setup tab when looking for the d11 cell? The tabs are along the bottom left side of the browser window when in spreadsheets. Once you get that part set up the rest mostly takes care of itself beyond copying the template and creating an individual assessment. 3) I put a few videos in the "advanced features" page now that will hopefully help with the hand-holding process. You can also check out the video link at the top of the Setup Instructions page while you're working through the setup instructions.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Andy, that was what I was missing - that there was a setup tab at the bottom...see what I mean by real slow like? I found it, saw the d11 cell, pasted it in, but it looked like that same code was already there...going to go back and watch the videos again, because the next part seems hard. If you can get me to understand this, you can get anyone to! I'll let you know when I get it all right - on twitter! (thanks for the follow - I love people who follow their followers!)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Audrey: the code that was in there was the sample key. If you pasted yours in the names from your sheet should update as you change them in your class list file. Right now your class list sheet probably still has the sample names in it. Looks like tweet out some good stuff so I'm happy to follow.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Andy - me again and I need more than 140 characters for sure. Today's questions/comments (sorry in advance):
    1. I find that I am having to jump from one window to the next and then I lose the original video/instruction set. Currently I am watching the video on firefox but I am doing the steps in a totally seperate chrome window.
    2. I found that everything works better if I am using chrome - for example, the spreadsheet view wouldn't appear in firefox
    4. I typed in my own sample classlists and once I copied the key= stuff and pasted it, those names showed up only when I clicked the "AllClasses" tab - is that right?
    5. Do I have to click save at any point?
    6. What is "not mcq"?
    7. Why do I insist on numbering everything? Must be the math teacher in me....
    Thanks again,
    Audrey

    ReplyDelete
  14. 1-2: The more you do in Google the more you'll realize how great Chrome is (and how less great the other browsers are in my opinion.
    3. The AllClasses tab is the one you'll see those showing up in. They'll also show up when you change from class to class in the Class tab.
    4. Google saves while you work so "saving" is not something you have to worry about all that often. If you ever are not saved and try to navigate away it will warn you and ask if you want to "stay on the page" or "leave the page". If that ever happens, choose to stay and then save by clicking the save button. In general with spreadsheets when you click into another cell it will save whatever changes you just made.
    6. "not mcq" is part of the script that is used for the email reports. I did not write the script but I think it stands for "not multiple choice question" but really that just means the items in that column are not to be scored.

    Keep the questions coming if you have any, I'm happy to have people wanting to use it so the work wasn't all just for me. Trying to move the profession forward :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Good morning Andy! Would it be better for me to email you my questions? Thanks so much by the way for making me feel comfortable asking you stuff - not everyone responds that way. I'm finding that I am able to answer a lot on my own but...not all!
    I've watched the videos and looked at your file called public w/data. Today's questions:
    • The public w/data doesn’t have the same headings as the assessment template – the email and the student name are switched – problem?
    • You say somewhere that the student names must have last name, first name with comma, but somewhere else you said to just use one name unless there was more than one kid with the same last name... I think I am confusing that with the classlist template where you said to use just one name whenever possible? But I thought that was where the assessment was getting the student info from...
    • Your public w/data file shows the lastname, firstname plus the email addresses – where/when does that info get put into the form?
    • You said that a gmail account is necessary but isn’t a google account good enough – ie I have a google account but my email isn’t a gmail one

    Also, I have been blogging since January about using classblogs, googledocs, geogebra, flipping, etc, and my site is http://audrey-mcsquared.blogspot.com/, in case you're interested!

    Thanks again,
    Audrey

    ReplyDelete
  16. The different headings shouldn't be problem, that is just one of the differences between the public and edu forms.

    I have students enter in their full last and first name but in my class list I use a partial name whenever possible. What it is doing is a search and if in the name the student enters is Xavier, Jeff but in my class list spreadsheet it just has Xavier it would search and identify the student cell correctly. It is always better to have less in your class list whenever possible. We have user names with our school .edu Google account so next year I'm actually having them enter those in and it should make it work a little smoother.

    The email address got put into the example data form because I checked the box on the form edit that said "automatically collect student email addresses". If you don't have that as an option in your google account you will need to use the Public Template instead of the Google Users one.

    As long as you are able to use Google Docs with your account this should work, gmail is not necessary.

    I checked out your blog. Looks like you have some good reflections there, I'll put in on my list to follow, thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great stuff Andy!

    Question - you mentioned briefly test security in your video, but didn't worry about it because it was a pre-test. Could you elaborate on that for non pre-tests?

    ReplyDelete
  18. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Chris--for non-pretests the test questions are actually on paper that the students receive in class. The Google form is the place they enter their answers and actually has no hint at the question content on it at all. Students (for math) show work on their paper copy, submit most answers through the Google form (aside from the questions needing analysis by the teacher) and then they view their results while looking at their test copy. Tests are handed in before students leave and students keep them in a folder in the classroom.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks for sharing your templates. I do have a question that I can't seem to solve from your tutorial. It is in importing or updating class lists. Your video shows that you copy/paste the URL from the class list template. I keep getting your note that I incorrectly pasted the key and or I can't just type in my names where you have placed your samples. Can I just have students import their names when they use the form? Do I need to import a "master" class list that they then connect to when they sign in? I guess I am a little unsure of how to get class lists in and or the process of entering names.
    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  21. That note shouldn't be in there anymore on the template, I just now took it out as it doesn't make as much sense anymore with the new setup process. Your class list should be connected if you set it up through the scripted menu. No need any longer to paste in a spreadsheet key. To edit your class list, in the "Setup" sheet click on the edit class list link or find the class list document in your documents folder and edit from there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the quick response. I'll follow your instruction.

      Delete
  22. HI-Having trouble with students getting email results, they put in their email as part of the quiz, but did not get results. What is the correct way to input emails to make sure they get a response? Also, does it have to be a gmail account or will any email work?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Any email address should work. There are some times when the email does not go through because of a Google error but if no emails are going through make through you have the email feature activated and authorized. In the assessment menu, make sure there is a check mark in front of the instant email menu option. If there is not you have to select this option for all emails to be sent out from this point forward.

      Delete
  23. Hi- Thanks for the information, I did get emails to work, A couple more questions for you. The students took an assessment, and I can see all of their results on the spreadsheet linked to that assessment. However, when I look at the unit dashboard, only a few students' scores show up? Also, should I see students names, and should the assessments show up on the course dashboard, or only on the unit dashboard? Thank you sooooo much!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Send me a message with your email so I can take a look at the error you are having.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hello- Thanks for sharing this with everyone.... I know I'm late to the party, but I'm having a fairly lame problem. I have used your form for all 40 of my AP World History Chapter Quizzes and several homework assignments for my other classes. The kids love it and only had one complaint about the process... since the form is on the old version of Forms, the template can't be updated. The complaint my students had was that it was a little confusing when ALL of the quizzes/homework assignments looked exactly the same. Now that I'm on winter break, I'm wondering if there's a way for my to update/change the form template so my kids will know what t expect and look for.. I tried copying the formulas and from your cells and setting up a template to look like yours, but some things, mostly the validation scripts, aren't coming across just right.. have you updated your template at all over the past year-and-a-half? Have you abandoned the idea completely? I see that you've moved on to other, cooler stuff.... just wondering.

    Thanks and enjoy your break.

    ReplyDelete