Google forms are a fine tool. As our readings suggested, I think using Google Forms for homework, especially in a flipped lesson, works very well. I have noticed that when I give an internet based homework assignment I get about a 66% completion rate. This rate grows to about 75% when using Google Forms. Comparing that to a hand written assignment, I am happy with the result (often hand written assignments are turned in at a rate of 40-50%).
Ignoring the arguments for and against homework, this difference is enough to make me more inclined to use google forms for homework assignments when I assign them. I find Google forms to be fairly easy to build and work with. The changes that Google has made in the last few years have made them even easier. I will continue to use this tool when appropriate in my classroom. T
1 Comment
792My goal as a teacher and as a Touro student is to help students become better learners. If I can help all of my students, yes even my reluctant learners, then my goal matches a major goal of the Touro College of Education: promote social justice through education.
My hope is that by developing better questioners, my most reluctant learner group, my Hispanic boys, will gain their voice. By gaining their voice through questions, then maybe, they may become stronger learners who can change their own future and our community's future for the better. My fellow cohort members have already supported me through this process (and I hope that I have reciprocated well).
Pixel Gun. Now the game is Pixel Gun.
What is this game my children are so addicted to? According to Jan McGonigal, games create:
The most important lesson for me comes from my sons' urgent optimism to play the game often. This has been mostly an annoyance to me, but after this week's learning, I may change my tune a bit. Can I create and use this in my classroom? I think I can. I think it could be good. One of my students who struggles in school is well known in the World of Warcraft. His Youtube channel explaining tips and tricks in this game has many followers. In class, he is only physically there. If I could hook him through gaming, could I have an effect on him and his future? I may. Since I teach world cultures with a focus on the years 500-1750 ce, I teach about many different countries, empires, and states around the world. I am intrigued after playing a game called Nation States from Games for Change. This game, if used well, could help my students recognize how government choices, or lack thereof, affect their made up country. If I introduce this at the beginning of the year, I could use it weekly to learn about nation states as we progress. We could even create nation states that resemble our historical nations and see how the computer simulation parallels what happened in history. This could make history more meaningful. I could, even, latch on to Jane McGonigal's four effects of gaming! I will investigate this further over summer and blog about it in the future. T I am the sum of my experiences.
|
Technology changes context too. So, the place where pedagogy, content, and technology comes together is the sweet spot for learning... the TPACK! We are best through the "thoughtful development of TPACK." My prototype of presenting my findings based on my driving questions needs to remember this basic teaching. In this program we are developing our own process by which we are meeting the content, pedagogy, and technological needs of your audience of students, peers, and other teachers and administrators. |
I just used a Google Forms to inform (yes pun was intended!) my future Capstone. A simple form, just three questions, allowed me to get data on the excitement that certain incentives have on students. As a review of previous work in Quality Questions, I found that the incentives I offered before worked for some students. With this form, I also asked about future incentives in two ways. First, through a "checkbox," students chose from a prepared list of possible free or inexpensive incentives. Second, through a "short answer," students could share their ideas that I did not come up with.
The results... interesting. I will share these later.
I also will use Google Forms to create a portion of a test. As I thought about an upcoming test, I knew a portion of it could be administered electronically. This test has many parts:
How, then, to bring in Google Forms? I chose to include all of my "short answer," "multiple choice," "maps,"and "choose all that apply" questions in my Google form.
This part of the assessment took longer to create since I am new at this, but I can see over time that this may become faster- especially after I read, after the fact, Alice Keeler's keyboard shortcut list of Google Forms! Should have read it first.
After reading ditchthattextbook, I was reminded that I can auto grade the multiple choice and checkboxes questions. This will gain back the time I spent initially; how exciting!
Finally, I added an image from a SMART board drawing to the quiz so that students can answer final questions about maps.
T
The results... interesting. I will share these later.
I also will use Google Forms to create a portion of a test. As I thought about an upcoming test, I knew a portion of it could be administered electronically. This test has many parts:
- multiple choice
- matching
- short answers
- long, full paragraph answers
- Choose all that apply (checkboxes)
- Verbal response
- Cite sources for an answer
- Maps
How, then, to bring in Google Forms? I chose to include all of my "short answer," "multiple choice," "maps,"and "choose all that apply" questions in my Google form.
This part of the assessment took longer to create since I am new at this, but I can see over time that this may become faster- especially after I read, after the fact, Alice Keeler's keyboard shortcut list of Google Forms! Should have read it first.
After reading ditchthattextbook, I was reminded that I can auto grade the multiple choice and checkboxes questions. This will gain back the time I spent initially; how exciting!
Finally, I added an image from a SMART board drawing to the quiz so that students can answer final questions about maps.
T
Boys... Girls
12 year olds... 13 year olds
Hispanic children... non-Hispanic children (my school is definitely bicultural not multicultural)
After starting the Quality Question club, then ending it two weeks later at the easy break of Thanksgiving, I have continued to be fascinated by the possibilities.
First the anecdotal evidence: I did not track my ethnicities and gender groupings. Certain groups seemed to be more involved in the QQ club than others.
Specifically, the Hispanic boys seemed disinterested. Is a a boy thing? More girls than boys got involved but I doubt it was in a statistically significant way. Is it a ethnic thing? More non-Hispanics became involved than non-hispanics... but again, I think that it was not in a statistically significant way. But if we combine Hispanic and boy, I think we have a statistically significant variation.
How do I address this? Are Hispanic boys one of my primary audiences? By focusing on their needs do I still meet the needs of the other students? Will a survey of what might entice their participation be enough to find out?
On an interesting parallel, quite a few, I'd estimate 12-15 students, have asked about the QQ club. When will it begin again? Will it be open to all periods (apparently students in the control groups felt left out)?
This week I will prepare to start again. Other free or almost free incentives? We'll find out. In a survey, I will ask for student names rather than anonymous answers to the question, "What free or almost free incentive may entice you to ask more questions?"
I wonder?
T
12 year olds... 13 year olds
Hispanic children... non-Hispanic children (my school is definitely bicultural not multicultural)
After starting the Quality Question club, then ending it two weeks later at the easy break of Thanksgiving, I have continued to be fascinated by the possibilities.
First the anecdotal evidence: I did not track my ethnicities and gender groupings. Certain groups seemed to be more involved in the QQ club than others.
Specifically, the Hispanic boys seemed disinterested. Is a a boy thing? More girls than boys got involved but I doubt it was in a statistically significant way. Is it a ethnic thing? More non-Hispanics became involved than non-hispanics... but again, I think that it was not in a statistically significant way. But if we combine Hispanic and boy, I think we have a statistically significant variation.
How do I address this? Are Hispanic boys one of my primary audiences? By focusing on their needs do I still meet the needs of the other students? Will a survey of what might entice their participation be enough to find out?
On an interesting parallel, quite a few, I'd estimate 12-15 students, have asked about the QQ club. When will it begin again? Will it be open to all periods (apparently students in the control groups felt left out)?
This week I will prepare to start again. Other free or almost free incentives? We'll find out. In a survey, I will ask for student names rather than anonymous answers to the question, "What free or almost free incentive may entice you to ask more questions?"
I wonder?
T
Social media in the classroom? I am not convinced that I want to use it in my 7th grade classroom too often. I have run into too much flack from parents when I tried to use it on a field trip as a way to support student learning. Moreover, when used, my students did not show more advanced learning than using traditional methods; but I am open to the possibilities.
Social media for my use? I admit that I am intrigued. My friends find great ideas posted on Pinterest and invite me to join them. I will. I am now in the twitter universe. Although annoyed by the twitter emails and advertising, I have seen some ideas from others that I find intriguing.
I think I can even use twitter to post a query specifically to help in my driving question.
Since I am interested in helping students develop quality questions, I could seek counsel and input about how others define or identify quality questions. By broadening my input, I can better define these for my students and myself.
On a different note, how would I respond to an inappropriate post by students made outside of school? The best answer I can give is, it depends. Considerations: severity of the post or actions described in the post, my relationship to the student, my knowledge of the student's background, the law, and an examination of my own moral code in relationship to the codes of other cultures, ethnicities, and groups. Finally, my reactions to other peoples' behavior almost always starts with my relationship to them. I use relationships and one-on-one discussions to better guide behavior than going to discipline. If it is necessary to call in outside resources such as parents, other teachers, administrators, or the police, I would, by default, start at the lowest level because I find most issues dealt with on lower levels can be resolved. When we go up the level of discipline too quickly, students and parents feel attacked and go into defensive mode which shuts down effective communication and lessons a learning opportunity.
T
Social media for my use? I admit that I am intrigued. My friends find great ideas posted on Pinterest and invite me to join them. I will. I am now in the twitter universe. Although annoyed by the twitter emails and advertising, I have seen some ideas from others that I find intriguing.
I think I can even use twitter to post a query specifically to help in my driving question.
Since I am interested in helping students develop quality questions, I could seek counsel and input about how others define or identify quality questions. By broadening my input, I can better define these for my students and myself.
On a different note, how would I respond to an inappropriate post by students made outside of school? The best answer I can give is, it depends. Considerations: severity of the post or actions described in the post, my relationship to the student, my knowledge of the student's background, the law, and an examination of my own moral code in relationship to the codes of other cultures, ethnicities, and groups. Finally, my reactions to other peoples' behavior almost always starts with my relationship to them. I use relationships and one-on-one discussions to better guide behavior than going to discipline. If it is necessary to call in outside resources such as parents, other teachers, administrators, or the police, I would, by default, start at the lowest level because I find most issues dealt with on lower levels can be resolved. When we go up the level of discipline too quickly, students and parents feel attacked and go into defensive mode which shuts down effective communication and lessons a learning opportunity.
T
So, I am finally learning, understanding, and starting to see the connections between these separate courses, our action research, and the capstone to which we are headed.
What I was seeing as separate highways reaching a destination from separate routes, is indeed more of a 6 lane highway that is becoming more focused; the lanes are merging. The bridge, by necessity cannot stay as the eastern end of the Bay Bridge into San Francisco.
Maybe the better analogy would be the Golden gate bridge with it's movable, reversible lanes. My learning through readings, interactions with my cohort and teachers, and my action research in school needs to accommodate the complex interaction of all of these. Learning must have it's movable lanes of input and output.
Sticking with the analogy, the bridge I am building cannot be a covered bridge. These blogs as well as our shared documents and cohort discussions show our learning as we progress. We are not to reach the other end of the bridge without anyone seeing our progress. In this way, we can do better for our students, schools, districts, and the larger community as well.AVID; Bloom’s
What I was seeing as separate highways reaching a destination from separate routes, is indeed more of a 6 lane highway that is becoming more focused; the lanes are merging. The bridge, by necessity cannot stay as the eastern end of the Bay Bridge into San Francisco.
Maybe the better analogy would be the Golden gate bridge with it's movable, reversible lanes. My learning through readings, interactions with my cohort and teachers, and my action research in school needs to accommodate the complex interaction of all of these. Learning must have it's movable lanes of input and output.
Sticking with the analogy, the bridge I am building cannot be a covered bridge. These blogs as well as our shared documents and cohort discussions show our learning as we progress. We are not to reach the other end of the bridge without anyone seeing our progress. In this way, we can do better for our students, schools, districts, and the larger community as well.AVID; Bloom’s
About Me
After teaching for 20 years, I've decided to pursue a master's degree!
Archives
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
Categories
This is me working on my classwork... usually at night after the heater is off.... sitting long times makes me cold!