Google Forms is a tool within Google Classroom/Google Suite. It is a free tool available to anyone who signs up with a Gmail account or Google account. I created a form for students to fill out about how they enjoy learning. They were given options of direct instruction from teacher, group work, online lessons, and games. There was a question at the end where students could fill out another way they enjoy to learn that was not given as an option.
This form was simple to make, and Google Forms is very user friendly. There are different types of questions you can make within the form like multiple choice, short answer, paragraph, or check all that apply. There is also an option to make the question required or optional. Google Forms can be used for student interest surveys, parent surveys, quizzes, or anything similar. Teachers can see the students responses and which students completed it.
This tool is consistent with component 1B: getting to know your students. My virtual co-op, Mrs. Woller, wanted her students to fill out this survey so she could see how her students like to learn. That way, throughout the year, she can utilize different teaching styles so all her students are engaged. She teachers 7th grade science so she only sees her students for 40 minutes a day. For her, knowing her students as learners as well as people is very important. She wants to let them know that she cares about them and will do her best to cater to their strengths and likes within the classroom.
I enjoyed making this form as there were endless options of what kind of Google Form I could make. It was easy to use and to make it my own. The themes were awesome and there was one pertaining to almost anything. I liked the option to make each question a different style so that it was not just a list of multiple choice questions. Using a form like this for quizzes and allowing students to write a short answer or a paragraph to answer a question is a more subjective way to test students on what they learn and give them the option to understand topics with their own spin on it. This relates to the SAMR model as the "S" is substitution. Typically, the teacher would pass out a paper with a student survey on it and have them fill it out with a pen or pencil. Google Forms is an easy way to incorporate technology in the classroom without being complicated. It also saves paper to do student interest surveys or quizzes through an online form. I would use Google Form in my future classroom to get to know the students outside of the classroom. At the beginning of the year, I would send a survey out to their parents and to the students. The parents would fill out questions about their child and important things like how they prefer to be contacted. The students would have a survey that asks questions about their life outside of the classroom; sports, activities, family, interests, etc. This would help me to know the family of my students more and to get to know the students and where they come from.