Google Forms have worked well for my distance learning classes. I used them almost daily in my Algebra 1 and Physics classes in the spring and now I use them daily for every class, for my warm-up at least.
I wrote previously about my main tips for transforming materials into Forms and providing feedback on Forms, but I have some changes and updates to share:
1. Collect names & emails
My main tip definitely remains the same: make sure you always require the student’s name on the form!! In addition to this I also check the setting to collect each student’s email. I’ve also had a few issues with students saying they submitted the form but it must have not gone through, so I’ve checked the setting that sends them a confirmation of submission.
2. Create your Forms as “Quizzes” for easy grading
This works for both regular assignments and actual quizzes or tests!
For regular assignments, you can click the settings to allow the students to see their grade immediately and see the correct answers. This basically automatizes feedback.
For quizzes and tests, make sure you click “Release grade later” and UNCLICK “Respondents can see correct answers.” Just like forgetting to collect their names, this is something I learned the hard way. I committed a whole 55 minute Algebra 1 class to doing test corrections after we took the test, only to realize at the end of the day that the students could see all of the correct answers on the Form I’d just sent back to them.
As for providing feedback, I prefer to do this using the quiz feature. You are able to provide individualized feedback for each student under each question. Personally, I’m currently enjoying Google Classroom’s assignment feedback set-up, but the Forms feedback allows more granularity.
All in all, Google Forms: WOULD recommend. But please learn from my mistakes.
A G-suite fan,
Julia
Julia Ziac 