Week 7: Formative Assessment with Google Forms

Formative Assessment with Google Forms

A look at Formative Assessment

Formative Assessments are assessments that occur during the learning process. I like to think of formative assessments as a "check in" to see how students are doing with the material or concept. Formative assessments do not need to be full length quizzes, instead they can be fun interactive ways for students to show their knowledge. It is a way for teachers to assess their own teaching strategies as well. It is a great way to see where student learning is taking place, and where more attention is needed. Formative assessments should occur on a daily basis as a way to assess progress before the more high stake summative assessments take place. 

The formative assessment process is beneficial to teachers and students in a variety of ways. These quick check ins allow teachers to informally assess whether or not students are understanding concepts. If they are not, teachers can go back and reteach the material or find ways to differentiate their instruction for students who need extra help. This type of check in process can help teachers see which students are ready to move on and which students need additional instruction. Formative assessments also help students assess themselves to see if they are understanding the material and concepts. Students can ask for more help if needed, or feel confident in knowing they are on the right track.  Teachers can guide students in self-assessment practices through providing formative assessment opportunities.

Creating Formative Assessments with Google Forms

Although I have had many occasions where I have filled out a Google Form, I have not had the opportunity to create my own Google Form. This assignment was a great way to explore ways to create formative assessments with Google Forms. I found Google Forms easy to navigate and was able to create a very basic Exit Ticket using the template found within the tool. I wanted to create a formative assessment for the e-course I am working on for early childhood teacher professional development so that is where I started. I created an Exit Ticket that I can insert into the e-course at the end of each section to gain an understanding of how teachers are doing with the material. I used one of the assessment strategies found in the resource 10 Innovative Formative Assessment Examples for Teachers to Know, 3-2-1 Countdown to create the exit ticket. 

Here are the steps I took to create the basic Exit Ticket:

• Once in Forms, I clicked on "Exit Ticket" under create new form
• This gave me a basic form to build my own exit ticket from
• I started at the top and changed the theme of the exit ticket first by clicking on the top right paint palette; here I could change the picture at the top--click on image upload and choose the image; once the image changed it gave suggestions for complimentary colors to choose for the border and background colors.
• From there I clicked on each section to change the wording and questions asked.
• I clicked on and changed the Title and description box to better suit my needs for the e-course
• I chose to keep the name and email section the same and made sure I put the "required" setting on--located on the bottom right of each section. When "on" it requires learners to answer the question before it can be submitted
• I changed the first question to:  "List 3 things you learned today" and set it to required; Forms has many options for ways questions can be answered I chose "Paragraph" for this one by clicking on the upper right drop box
• I clicked on the next section and changed it to "List 2 things you want to know more about" and set it to required and answer in "paragraph"
• I clicked on the last section and changed it to "List 1 thing you will start doing in response to what you have learned" and set it to required and answer in "paragraph"

Overall, the Google Forms process was easy to follow and create. I liked the way that templates were already there to build upon since I have not created one previously. I can see where Forms would be an easy way to provide formative assessment tasks to students that would not take up a lot of class time. Learners will be able to provide feedback to teachers quickly and easily by using Forms. Teachers can then use the feedback to prepare, change or alter instructional strategies and activities to suit the needs of students.

I would like to explore more with Google Forms to create a survey for the program evaluation I am working on for another class. I think Forms would be an easy way to get a survey out to many people and easy for them to fill out quickly. I am looking forward to exploring more with Google Forms for this purpose.

e-Course Formative Assessment

Week 3: Exploring Google Slides

Exploring Google Slides

Reflecting on Google Slides

I have been using Google Slides for a while now in my own preschool classroom, in college courses and within the context of the school district. I am a part of a school system where slides are often shared by administration and supervisors for communication purposes. I have utilized slides to create book reports and research presentations for college classes, in addition, as a collaboration tool within the online classroom construct. I have also created assessments and visual prompts for preschool students using Google slides that I use in conjunction with the Phonological and Literacy Awareness Screening (PALS) in my classroom. 

While I am familiar with and have been using slides, I really reflected this week on how I currently use this tool and how I can broaden my usage and deepen my understanding of it. I have realized that I have only been touching the surface of what Google Slides can actually be used for. For the most part, I have been using slides as an informational tool where I plug in the information I want someone to know and then simply present it or turn it in. In the future, I wish to venture into the administration or supervisory aspect of the early education field so I am interested in finding different uses in which to use this presentation tool. I would like to broaden my own understanding and usage of the product so I can better utilize this tool in future positions. 

So, with this in mind, I wanted to focus this week on using more of the tools Google Slides has to offer and use some things I have not previously used. I wanted to take a different approach with Google Slides and use it in a different way. I am currently working on a program evaluation of a Kindergarten Transition Program for another college class so I wanted to incorporate that evaluation with the Google Slides tool. It is my intention to work on the evaluation with the Coordinator of Preschool Services and several preschool teachers during the evaluation process. My hope is to use Google Slides as a platform for which  we can collaborate on the program evaluation together. As we gather information, ideas and brainstorm the process we can then add the information to the presentation slides.  

Using Google Slides

This week I challenged myself to dig deeper into Google Slides. My goals in using slides were to:  

1. Create a slide presentation for a different purpose (different from my usual use)
2. Use more of the tools within slides, i.e. shapes, links, arrange on page, etc.
3. Add visuals to the presentation
4. Insert links to resources--website links, etc. to use as references or info
5. Be able to use the slide presentation for a project based purpose instead of a single use
6. Make it useful for collaborating 

With these goals in mind I set out to create a Google Slide presentation for the Kindergarten Transition Program I am evaluating.  It is my hope that I can utilize this presentation throughout the semester to share, collaborate and brain storm with the program stakeholders--coordinator, preschool teachers, assistants, kindergarten teachers and administrators. 

The Kindergarten Transition Program Presentation

After creating the slides presentation, I revisited the goals I had set out to accomplish and although it is a work in progress, I think I have accomplished the goals I set for myself.
I created the Kindergarten Transition Program slide presentation in order to use as a working document to collaborate with others on the evaluation (different purpose/useful for collaborating/project based). I included visuals and used more Google Slides tools in the presentation with adding a background picture, using shapes, arrows, adding color to some slides and text boxes, and arranging some information in visual form. One of the purposes of the presentation is to use it as a working document where it is revisited and revised as needed, instead of using it as a one time presentation tool. I also utilized more resource based links and information into the presentation including links to websites that can be consulted for further information.

Including Visuals in Slides
To include the background visual in Slides:  
Click the background in the tool bar and then click choose image; I then searched for the image I wanted by typing in "children in line." Select the image and then click insert to use as the background for the slide.

Using Shapes and Arrows
Using shapes and arrows is a great way to create a flow chart of information:
Click on circle and angle icon on the tool bar, when hovering is should say shapes, to select the shapes you want to create with. Click the shape you want and drag it where you want it to be on the slide. You can then enter the text onto the shape directly. Use the same icon and procedure for the arrow options. I used this tool to create the organizational flow of the program I am evaluating. You can use as many shapes and arrows as necessary to create the visual chart you want to display the information. 

Adding Color
Click on the text box you want to add fill color to and click on the icon that looks like a cup pouring, when hovering it should say "fill color." Brings up a drop down box to choose the color you want to add to the text box. 

Videos
To insert the videos for the presentation I clicked on the Insert tab and clicked on video, this brought up a window to search in YouTube. I put in what kind of video I wanted, a description, phrase, etc. and it pulled up videos to choose from. Click on the one you want for the presentation and hit the select button on the bottom left and it uploads to the presentation. You can click and drag it to where you want it on the page.

Overall this was a positive experience and I think I extended my own learning by using more of the tools and options that Google Slides has to offer. 

Kindergarten Transition Program Google Slides Presentation