Saturday, October 5, 2013

Blog Posting (weekly)

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Google Forms for Formative Assessment

This past week, I helped present a webinar on using Google Forms for formative assessment. Because they are so simple to setup and manage, I hope our teachers see its potential. My teammate, Maria Tenny, came up with some excellent samples of different ways Google Forms could be used. So here we go!

Reading Record - This form is great for tracking student reading, whether that be independent reading or group literature. So often, teachers cannot check in with every student each day. By using this form, the teacher can have a record of student reading progress and a different question could be answered each day. The data from the form can be sorted so a teacher can look at all a student's entries right in a row.

Prior Learning Assessment - This form could take the place of a KWL chart. The great thing about this form is that it is individually done and everyone gets an equal voice. With the data from this form, a teacher could see what the student interests are, what questions they may have, and what knowledge they already possess. This information can be used to differentiate and make better instructional decisions.

Project Progress Form - This form could really come in handy when you are doing group projects with your students! You try your best to check in with every group but sometimes things just happen in the classroom and you don't get to spend enough time with a group. By using a form like this, you can monitor a group's progress and make instructional adjustments accordingly.

Homework Check In - Spending class time checking homework is probably not the best use of time. With this form, you can have the students input their answers before class begins. With this information, you can see trends about particular questions or concepts that are an issue. You can also see which students are having issues. In addition, using the Flubaroo script will allow you to have the homework graded! With this information, you can make better instructional decisions in the classroom.

Google Forms are a great tool for formative assessment. Start creating today!