Sunday, April 20, 2014

Thing 16: You Pick!

Well, for my Thing 16, I decided to do two things:

  1. Try out the Chromebook that the technology team is supposed to work on.
  2. Learn more about Google docs, Google drive, and, especially, Google Forms!
So I logged on to my Google drive which I had for my library website.  I watched a video about Google forms and started to create one.  I decided to use it to check on my first graders progress toward the SLO goals.  I made a form with text and multiple choice questions that I will send to a spreadsheet ultimately.  I wonder if there is a way that the state would accept Google Forms as an SLO test because it certainly would be easier to "grade."  If not, I wonder if they would accept a Moodle test.  I doubt it though since there would be no paper copy for the administration to save.  Still it is a good question for me to forward to the superintendent on my return to school.

I found the process of making the Google form surprisingly easy.  In the midst of it, I had to make a Google Doc.  At this point, I plan to print the doc and give the students a copy, but In wonder if there is a way to refer to the Doc in the form so that students could go back and forth.

Another question I still have to investigate is whether there is a way to change the font size on the Google form.  It seemed very small.  Fine for older students with good eyes, but a problem for younger students who are used to larger print and for those who have a visual impairment.

I am not sure why I never bothered to learn about Google Docs and Google forms before.  I guess I just assumed that I could learn them easily when the time came.  I think that they will come in very handy when I do reading inventories in advance of booktalks.  It will be very easy to summarize results, not like the paper copies I have done.

In my investigation of the Chromebook, I found it easy to use, but I don't much like being signed into Google all of the time.  I feel like I am being tracked, which, of course, I am.  Since I was using my school account to make the form, but I wanted to add this blog post which is on another account, it was just that much more confusing.  When exploring some of the apps that were added for the students to use, I found them surprisingly lame.  They didn't give immediate feedback, either.  Telling a student at the end when their score is on the screen and "fireworks" are shooting off in the background that they got some questions wrong and why is worthless.  I doubt 2 out of 100 kids would really study what questions they got wrong.  Students need more immediate feedback.

So much for Thing 16.  Now I won't be hesitant to make a Google Form.