This week we used Google Forms to collect and share preference data about fruit. We spent Wednesday afternoon’s design and technology session learning about different fruit as a precursor to creating a healthy fruit smoothie.
The children had the opportunity to taste about 15 different types of fruit and record their thoughts and preferences. I used a Google Form to collect this data into a spreadsheet so that the children could use this information to help inform them of their peers’ preferences. That is why this was so useful, the form acted as a simple data entry point to contribute to a wider pool of data. This larger set provides the children an insight into the a wider range of preferences which we will use to help plan the ingredients for their smoothies.
We are working in Google Apps for Education and there are a number of ways to share both the form and the spreadsheet, in the screenshots below I explain some of them because there are a few different options.
I used this feature when I shared the fruit form with my class. They accessed it from their email and the form was included in the message. However be aware that when the children completed the form and clicked submit from the email message ironically the Google toolbar blocked the pop-up that opens as conformation. The form data is not submitted.
In order to sidestep this quickly during the lesson without having to ask the children to edit pop-up settings I asked them to access the form via the link that is included in the email. In the future I will just send the link to the kids and get them to access it outside of their email.
Remember that the form and the spreadsheet can be shared separately – once we have collated all of the data we need, I will be sharing the children into the document so they can access the results. I displayed the spreadsheet data on the IWB so the children could see what was happening I highlighted the live update of the data as forms were submitted.
This final option to share the form will allow children access to it from their documents home screen. We had great fun sharing the fruit preferences we had by using Google Forms and we will soon be all set to average out the data to help with our smoothie recipes.
With a week passing since we began using our docs accounts the kids have experienced the use of sharing and working on documents, forms and spreadsheets – on Friday the children worked in pairs on a piece of work in RE, shared with each other as the pair were co-owners and then handed into me by sharing too. I showed the children how I star the documents that I need to mark and how to filter their docs home view in different ways. It is still enjoyable to see children sharing Google Docs to hand work in, it is just so simple and effective.
Important to note the pop-up problem if you share the form embedded in an email – next time I will probably use option 3 rather than email.
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Thanks for your post. I took your idea and used it to add a ‘contact me’ page to my blog. I look forward in future to using Google forms with the pupils.
http://www.fiendishlyclever.com/2008/09/using-google-docs-to-create-contact-me.html
Thanks for this tutorial.
I have struggled with turning my collected data into the visual graph (so maybe Paul can provide some insights?). I try to insert the Gadget, but it tells me that data is empty.
Sigh
Kevin
Thanks Paul – they are very easy to use and can provide a very powerful tool for the classroom. We will be using them with our classes when working on data handling in maths.
There is a link from within the form when you are editing it to see a visual summary – I think it’s very beta at the moment but useful to know.
Nice work Tom. A clear and precise overview. I’ve been using Google forms with a number of schools I work with. I love the ease of the set up, but it’s the ability to embed the forms – and the responses – in web pages, blogs, wikis, intranets et al that clinched the deal. I’m now experimenting with Google Gadgets (via the Insert Visual link) to find ways to dynamically graph the data.