Forming Data using Google

Although considered as a application which allows you to generate surveys, Google Forms is better thought of as a means for organising data, in whatever shape or form that maybe. A part of the suite of applications which make up Google Drive, it has many connections with Google Sheets. At its heart Forms contains nine different question types: text, paragraph, multiple choice, checkbox, choose from a list, scale, grid, date and time. See this Form for a better explanation.

In addition to these options, you can also use a range of add-ons that provide additional functionality, such as the ability to eliminate options after a user has chosen it (Choice Eliminator), write complex math problems (gMath), generate a Form questions from the data in a Sheet (FormRanger) and shut off a Form after a number responses or a certain day (formLimiter).

Some possible uses for Google Forms include:

• Creating a quiz as formative assessment
• Developing a survey for students to provide feedback
• Organising a sporting carnival
• Planning an essay or story

These ideas are only the beginning, for seeing Google Forms in isolation limits its wider potential. Once you understand that the data is fed into Google Sheets, you can then start exploring some of the possibilities within Sheets. For example, Kenneth Durham has used Autocrat, a Google Docs add-on, to provide his staff with feedback when he does observations. This includes creating a template in Docs and a Form which then feeds the information into Sheets. All of this means that by filling in the Form, staff are automatically sent an email with their feedback.

So what about you, what are some of the different ways that you have used Google Forms?

Here are some additional resources:

Google Forms: Quick Start Guide by Alice Keeler

Unleashing the Potential of Google Forms and Using Google Forms for Differentiated Instruction by Anthony Speranza

Script Central – By Jay Atwood

A Guide to Using Google Forms with Autocrat by Kenneth Durham

80 Interesting Ways to Use Google Forms to Support Learning by Tom Barrett

Using Google Forms for Formative Assessment by Bianca Hewes

Forming Data using Google by Aaron Davis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.