This is an idea I actually borrowed/took from a colleague in my master’s course.
Most classrooms have at least one computer in them, granted not all, but this might make you fight to have one.
Forms are a big part of the daily life in education. Students have forms for missing class, tardies, discipline, and a lot of other things. Most of these forms are on paper format and you will end up with a big stack of them by the end of the year. Well, the transition from paper forms to digital forms is quite simple and it will save you a lot of time.
Creating a Form
The process to set up a form online it quite simple. Take an online software program that creates forms, such as Google Docs or Survey Monkey and create a form. You will be given a link or embed code to make the form available to your students either by bookmarking on the computer in your room or putting it on your class blog or website. Then students just fill out the form.
Classroom Uses
I can see many uses for using forms for both the classroom and the school. The idea that sparked this in me was that the teacher had students fill out a digital form when they were disruptive in class. Essentially “writing” themselves up. You could also use this as a reflective tool at the end of a unit by asking the students what they thought about the unit. I am planning on using a form to track student absences, tardies, and there reasons. Granted, I teach a computer class, which allows my students access to computers at all times. I also see this as a part of an assignment, where the student reflects on what they did and learned.
School-wide Uses
Essentially, using digital forms throughout a school would be great for data collection and identifying trends quicker. Students can fill out a digital form in the office, which the administration can see immediately to identify the flow of student traffic in and out of school. Instead of a suggestion box, it could be a form that the students fill out.
The Rest of the Story
Obviously, digital forms will not rid the world of paper forms. I am still hesitant to have a digital form for student field trips that need parental approval, unless the form was accessible only in a secure location that only parent’s could get into. And parents would need to all have access to computers and Internet also for that to work. But, it is a step in the right direction for better communication in education.
I love the idea of using a Google form linked on my website as a way for students to record and reflect on a discipline problem. There is an instant record that can be emailed to parents, admin, etc. Great idea!
We are setting up the structure to use a form in our school for the nurse (located @ the middle school) to keep up with her diabetic students @ the High School. They will take their readings, fill out the form (from computer or on smart phone,) and the nurse can review it without changing locations. It also give the ability for the parent(s) and doctor to monitor also. We’re anxious to get this in place.
I love Google Forms. I use them to gather feedback for workshops that I present and lessons that I co-teach. My administration uses them for school-wide student surveys as well. We embed the surveys right on our school site. Eventually, the data is downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet where it can be sorted.
You can even make self-grading quizzes for students. This post has some information about that: http://abbtechtuesday.edublogs.org/2010/01/19/google-docs-forms/