My Use of Forms

My Use of Google Forms

I wrote a more generic post about Google Forms last year, which you can read HERE. This time, I want to talk about how I specifically am using them to help myself with record keeping and documentation. I have used forms for quizzes in the past, as well as for surveys and a few conferencing type activities in the past, but I have found a whole new use (and love) with Google Forms.

First, when you think of creating a Google Form, you may envision creating it for other people to fill out (surveys, quizzes, etc.). The forms in this post are never filled out by anyone other than me. Here are a few ways that I am using forms and a few thoughts for you to consider...

Communication Log

I am in my summative year of the educator effectiveness cycle, which requires me to complete a communication log. I know what you are thinking..."Why would the 1st ever BMS Employee of the Trimester have to be evaluated?' I ask myself the same question, and I am sure it has something to do with giving the new middle school principal practice observing exemplary teachers..... :-) (Please don't fire me...I have kids!)

Seriously though, I hate doing communication logs. I find myself going weeks at a time without recording anything, and then have to try and backtrack through my email records and phone logs looking for the communications I made. I make plenty of communications, but there has to be a better way to track/document them. Insert Google Forms..

I created a Google Form for communications. I bookmarked it and added it to the homescreen of my iPad for easy access. You could even put it on your smartphone if you wanted to. Now, whenever I make a parent communication, I find my nearest device and take 20 seconds to fill out that form. All my submissions are saved in a spreadsheet, which could be prettied up and used as my log or I can just copy and paste the information into one of the communication log templates from the educator effectiveness website when the time comes.

The trick to this is making your form look like the information that would go into your log. Here is what my form looks like:

The questions are the same as the headers on the communication log. All are short text style questions that require me to type the answer except the 'mode' question. I use a dropdown box that gives options like email, letter, phone, face to face, etc. You may also notice that I do not include a question about date. I chose this because the timestamp of my submission is automatically collected. However, you may want to include that as well in case you do not complete your form on the same day that you did the communication.

Here is what the submission spreadsheet would look like (note: These are generic re-submissions because I did not want to show my real log with names, etc.):

Coaching Log

Another thing that I wanted to do a better job documenting was who/why was I seeing for technology coaching. I created a form and again, posted it in easily accessible spots. As soon as I am done seeing a teacher, I jump on my iPad and fill out the form. It takes me less than a minute. Here is the what that form looks like:

Again, I now have all this data in a spreadsheet which is useful for analysis. I can graph out what schools/departments I spend the most time in. I can filter the data to see only the submissions with a certain teacher. I find this very useful.

Parent-Teacher Conferences
With Parent-Teacher Conferences coming up in less than a month, you may want to consider using a Google Form to document the content of your conferences. 1) It will give you structure to your conference. If you use the form as a guideline (Class background, Student progress/grades, strengths, areas of growth/concern, behavior/effort, parent-feedback, etc.) you may find that your conferences are more efficient. 2) You can refer back to the notes you took during the fall and during the winter conference to reflect on gains made. 3) You have the notes to refer to in case something comes up: Mr. Smith, "I mentioned how Johnny was struggling handing in his work during conferences. He is still missing many assignments....."

I hope that you can find a use for a Google Form somewhere in your classroom and I would be more than willing to come in and help you get set up. 

On a separate note, I am off on paternity leave from October 3rd -October 14th. I will be back on Monday October 17th. I will check my email in between diaper changes and naps, but if it is something pressing you would be best contacting helpdesk so Dave or Adam can assist.

Until then, thanks for reading and have a great homecoming week!

Welcome Back!

Who's Excited to be Back?!?!

I hope everyone enjoyed their summer and are starting to get back into the routine of things again this year. I know how overwhelming the beginning of the year can be. So much information all at once and no time to do anything with it!!!

First, remember that this post stays on the blog under the 'Archived posts', so if you don't want to read now, you can always come back to get this information later. That being said, I wanted to remind you of some of the resources available to you as you start the year as well as give you an update on some upcoming plans.

Staff Access Site

On the far right of the district webpage, is the link to Staff Access:

If you click there (you must be signed into google with your school account), it will take you to a page to select your school. Under your school, you have links to many of your most visited/needed sites:

I tried to update as many of them as I could, but if you find something is not right or if I can remove something that is no longer in use, please let me know. I can add to this site as well, but to prevent it from being too cluttered, I ask that it would benefit more than just a few teachers in your building.

One of the links on that site is the TECHNOLOGY SITE. I made a few changes to this site that I hope you find useful:

Technology Site

First of all, please remember that if you need help, that you can use the 'REQUEST HELP' page on the site. Here you have the option of requesting a tutorial be made (for you or students), OR you can book time with me.

A new page this year is the RESOURCE LIBRARY. What used to be a long, unorganized list of technology tutorials is now organized by category. I will continue to add as requests come in and I hope you find this page very useful.

Upcoming Plans

The implementation of Powerschool Learning (PSL) as a  universal Learning Management System (LMS) into BMS and BHS has been a massive undertaking (BTW, that is 5 acronyms in one sentence...Booyah!). It will continue to draw most of my time through this first month until everyone gets comfortable with it. 

Judy was kind enough to give me a Wednesday in the green room at Clay on October 26th, where I will be able to meet with every grade level and any specialists. If any teachers at Clay want me to attend one of their meetings on any other day, please go ahead and book me and I will make it!

I will be doing some NON-EVALUATIVE classroom observation/coaching this year. If you are teaching a lesson that uses technology, I would love to come and see what you are doing. If you are teaching a lesson and want me to observe it and give feedback on possible uses of technology, again, would be glad to do so. 

It is my goal to meet with every teacher in the district either individually or as a team this year, so if you don't seek me, I will seek you ;) 

Have a great ending to your first month back and remember there is light at the end of the tunnel.....

Powerschool Learning Updates

Powerschool Learning Updates

Parents

Some teachers are itchy to get parents attached to PSL. I ask that you please be patient with this. We are now set up to do it, however we are going to give all teachers some more time to get themselves acquainted with PSL before we connect parents. A plan is place to do a roll-out in October with literature going in newsletters, newspaper, etc. and at Parent-Teacher Conferences on October 20th parents will get their personalized log in information attached to their child's schedule/progress report at both the MS and HS. If a parent doesn't attend conferences, the letter will be mailed home. 

When a parent is connected to their child's account, they will be able to see everything their child would see, but they cannot edit anything. This includes classes, class content, assignment information, their child's work, and grades (if done on PSL). 

If you would like parents to 'view' your class before the late October roll-out, you can make your class publicly viewable, and share the link through an email. With this option, a parent would see your class content, but would not see any grades/work/etc. To make your class publicly viewable:

1) Go into the desired class

2) On the far right near the top Manage Class> Class Settings.

3) Under Class Settings, scroll down to the 'settings block' where you will see your current class visibility settings:

4) Change 'Only people in the class roster to 'Anyone on the Web.' and click save.

Again, you can now send that link to parents via email and they can view your class.

Class Calendars

I hope at a minimum that every teacher is keeping current their class calendar. This is an important piece as it allows a student to see a snapshot of all their class activities right when they log on. Think of it as 'filling out a planner' for the student. The middle school can use this to replace the Google Calendars as it shows all classes in one calendar for the student (and soon parent) rather than clicking on each individual class. Should you give access to your parents in advance by using the method above, they will also be able to see your calendar (although only by individual class). Here is a snapshot of what a student sees and why filling out your calendar is so important:

As you can see, this student has an exam in Spanish today, a quiz in science on Tuesday, and some class activities in Tech Exploration and Personal Finance. Please keep your calendars current. If you are unsure how to do this, please watch this 1 minute video on CREATING AN EVENT IN YOUR PSL CALENDAR:

SUPPORT STAFF/SHADOWING

I sent out an email regarding 'Shadowing for support staff and special ed teachers. Please make sure that these teachers are NOT enrolled in your classes as students or teachers (unless they need editing rights to your class). The 'shadow' feature should give teachers/aides access to all they need. For more information on shadowing, talk to me or watch the video on the PSL resource site....

RESOURCES

All the PSL resources are posted in the RESOURCE LIBRARY off of the Technology Site. 

TRAININGS

I will be hosting more trainings when football is complete for those who want to go further. However, I encourage you to talk to your colleagues on what they are doing with PSL. Some teachers are doing some really innovative things that can make life easier for both you and your students.

The enthusiasm towards PSL this fall has been great. I really appreciate everyone being patient as we work through occasional hiccups and I look forward to working with all of you to help make PSL a part of your classroom.