Twelve Ways to Use Google Forms

Google Forms allow you to quickly create a web page that gathers input into a spreadsheet. From there, the data can be analyzed, manipulated, or pasted into other documents. We talked about this tool before in Gathering data with Google forms and you were probably thinking, “Wow! There have to be lots of ways you could use that in a class.” Below are specific ideas to get you started. Some of the them require students to submit responses in the classroom, others will work outside of class. For many you do NOT want to identify who is submitting. On others you’ll need to include a field for a name or other identifier.

This article was inspired by Tom Barret’s web page, Interesting Ways. Nearly all of the ideas are adapted from 57 Interesting Ways* to Use Google Forms in the Classroom, a crowdsourced Google presentation.

1. Word list to Wordle – have each student submit 3-5 words, then aggregate the list and create a word cloud (ProfHacker has more on Using Wordle in the classroom)
2. One minute paper – ask two questions about how a class went: the most important thing students learned and the muddiest point and (read about this technique)
3. Pre-test – find out if students “get it” by anonymously asking questions before class
4. Getting to know you – take a survey the first week of class and use the data to relate course content to students’ background
5. Preview opinions – before you start a discussion find out anonymously where everyone stands, not just the vocal minority
6. Place orders – students submit their requests for field trip options, Engineering Club t-shirts, or pizza toppings for the study group gathering.
7. Arrange a meeting – students choose their preferred date and time for a review session or movie screening
8. Collect account IDs – I need to view students’ Flickr photos for a project and I can easily copy the IDs to my grade book spreadsheet
9. Build a timeline – each student enters dates with descriptions, locations and descriptive tags – sort the resulting spreadsheet and voila!
10. Brainstorm or brain-write – students submit ideas regarding ways to solve a problem
11. Create an annotated bibliography – instead of a Word document, ask students to submit entries on a Google Form; it will be easier to format later on
12. Evaluate a guest speaker – ask students to fill out an online evaluation form to help you decide whether you will want to bring the person back next year

Learn how to use Google Forms:

• Creating forms : Forms – Google Docs Help
• YouTube – Using Forms in Google Docs