"Add-ons" for Google Docs and Sheets. Have You Discovered Them?

I feel like I am stuck in an episode of The Twilight Zone episode. It's an episode where things that have been there start disappearing with no explanation. Let me explain.

I have been using Google Forms for years. As just one example, click the button on the sidebar which says, "Book me for your next event." What you will see is a Google Form. If you complete the form and click the "Submit" button, your data goes into a spreadsheet, date-and-time-stamped. Each field in the form is represented by a column on the spreadsheet. 

Google Forms are simple to construct. If you have never used them, go to YouTube and search for something like "How to create Google Forms." You will have no trouble finding tutorials. Trust me, in minutes, you will be creating your own.

Back to my example, I don't want to have to go to that spreadsheet daily to see if there is a new addition. Luckily, when I created this form, the accompanying spreadsheet featured an item on the "Tools" menu called "Notification rules." This feature provided an easy way for to automatically send me an email whenever anything had been added to the spreadsheet. If you create a new Google Form today, don't bother looking at that option. If you do, you see this message:

That's "Scene 1" from The Twilight Zone. You see, Google updated their entire forms service about a year ago. The "Notification rules" option went away. Luckily, if you already had a form created before the update, your notifications continue to work.

Update:: Google evidently added this feature this afternoon (March 15). This morning, I was looking at a spreadsheet, and the message displayed above was showing. This afternoon, choosing "Notification rules" allows the options we had enjoyed with the old Google Forms. 

But not for long...

Lately, I been seeing this message when I access one of my older forms:

If you are interested in what you see if you click to "Learn more," here is what you see. So, it looks like my notifications will be going away. The Twilight Zone...scene 2!

I have never been one to wait until something went away to find a "Plan B." Not only will I need a way to be notified when people complete my form, but I have friends who use a Google Form as a replacement for the paper discipline referral form. The teacher clicks a link and completes an on-screen form. The referral populates the next blank line on the principal's spreadsheet. The principal receives an instant notification email that a referral has been submitted. Those people are going to need a "Plan B."

My Introduction to Scripts
A Google search brought me to this post. You will see a black rectangle about half-way down the page. Highlight and copy the contents of that box. Just above it is a simple set of instructions.

I created a discipline referral form and used that script. It worked like a charm. When I entered sample discipline into the form, I received an email immediately. What I got was actually better than the old notification rules. This email gave me the name of the student, the name of the teacher, the teacher's comments, and anything else that had been entered.into the form.

More Curious About Scripts
What I learned from my last experiment was that I didn't actually have to know how to write scripts, I just needed to know how to find ones other people had written. I found some other videos that talked about the "Scripts Gallery," and through I would create a form or two with something from that gallery.

Guess what? It's no longer there...The Twilight Zone, scene 3.

"Add-ons"
For the last couple of days, I have been working with the spreadsheets associated with Google Forms a lot. Working with the scripts has caused me to look at menu items more closely than ever before.

Suddenly, yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, I saw something I had never seen before...something that had not been there even earlier the same day...a menu item called "Add-ons," the fourth, and final scene from The Twilight Zone.

Here is a video which talks about "Add-ons":

)

Is this why the notification rules went away? Is this why there is no longer script gallery? Is this the replacement? In just the limited amount of time I have explored the add-ons, I would say the answer is "yes."

View the video, and explore the add-ons. I am hoping it will be a treasure trove of great functions. Time will tell.

Have you already founds the add-ons? What thoughts do you have?

Using Google Docs to Collaborate in Real Time

When someone is introduced to Google Docs, the first and most basic concept is that when you create something with Google Docs, you can access it from any device which has Internet access. A second major concept is that you have the ability to share your creation with someone else. You may grant rights to view a document or rights to edit that document. This concept eliminates the need to e-mail documents back and forth and wonder which one is the most recent.

The video I have embedded here reminds us we can take this concept a step further. Multiple people can view the same document at the same time. Multiple people can make changes to that document at the same time. Imagine a group of people sitting around a table, or even sitting in the middle of the floor, all working on a project together. Google Docs offers that capability, even though the people may be in different parts of the world.




Many who watch this video know the capabilities shown here exist. Yet, in our day-to-day world, we often forget about an easier way to do things are resort to what has been familiar. We do what we have always done. So, the challenge is to start doing smarter things!

Having just watched this video, take a moment to think of a project you have going on right now where you could use what you saw here to make that project easier. Actually using the concept, even once, will make you much more likely to think of real-time collaboration with Google Docs the next time a similar task presents iteslf.

How do you collaborate on projects? Anyone already doing what you saw here? Anyone accomplishing this through concept through Dropbox? Other thoughts?

Principal Center Webinar Follow-Up

Thanks to those who participated in the Get Organized! webinar series these past 3 Tuesdays. Also thanks to Justin Baeder, Director of The Principal Center for hosting this series. This post serves as a follow-up to the series, and especially as a follow-up to the third session..

Staying Connected
If you liked what you heard and would like more, here are several ways you can keep in touch:

• Check out our website. In addition to general information on what we do, you will find a page of free resources.
• Follow me on Twitter.
• "Like" my Facebook page and check back for updates.
• Follow me on Pinterest (which organizes blog posts by general topic)
• Subscribe to the free monthly newsletter. 
• Bring new blog posts straight to your e-mail.
• Read Get Organized! and/or Organization Made Easy!
• Bring me to your school or organization.

iGoogle
If you are interested in adding to your iGoogle page some of the same gadgets I have on mine, here is an easy way to get them. As you click each link, you will be taken to a page that describes the gadget and lets you click a button to automatically add it to your iGoogle page.

Google Bookmarks
Google Reader
Yahoo News
Twitter
Facebook 
Bit.ly URL Shortener
Weather
reQall 
Toodledo
People.com
MapQuest Driving Directions
Area/Zip Code Lookup
Music
YouTube
Document to PDF
Movies
GoogleDocs
GoogleCalendar
Google Map Search
Portfolio Monitor
Calculator
Stopwatch
Flight Status
WolframAlpha 
Time Converter

Here is how to make iGoogle (your homepage).


Dropbox
Want to set up a Dropbox account? Here is an easy way for you to set up an account and get an extra 250MB of free storage for both you and me. Click here to sign up.

I have written a short e-book which explains how I use Dropbox. For information on downloading for free, go here. 

Google Docs Forms

In a time where tablets are becoming popular, conducting classroom walk-throughs is an extremely practical use of collecting and organizing data.

Here are the steps for creating a walk-through form using Google Docs and then getting that walk-through form onto your tablet.

1. Design your walk-through form on paper. You may wish to begin with a paper form you are already using. Only after you have thought through how you want the form to look should you go to the computer.
2. Log into your Google account and go to docs.google.com. You will see a list of all of the Google Docs you have already created.
3. Click “Create New” and choose “Spreadsheet.”
4. In Row 1 enter each of the questions that will go on the form. (Examples: Teacher name, Subject, Resources Being Used, Objective/Essential question posted?, Student activity, Number of students not actively engaged, Teacher activity, Level of questioning, Overall comments). Press the tab key to go from column to column. Note: You do NOT need to have a column for the date. The date and time of the walk-through will automatically be gathered for you.
5. From the “Tools” menu, choose “Form” and “Create a form.” You will now see a form with your column heading already listed. Below each item will be a short blank where you could enter a response.
6. While some fields lend themselves well to a short answer, for others, a drop-down list, series of check-boxes, paragraph text box, etc. will be a better fit. As you move the mouse down the page, each item will turn a beige color and display a series of icons to the right. Click the pencil icon to decide what type of response you want and create your list of checkboxes, items on drop-down list, etc.
7. Each question will display a “make this a required question” checkbox. It is a good idea to check this box. That will keep you from overlooking an item. Click “Done" when you have finished editing that item.
8. At the top of the form is a button called “Theme.” Click it, and you can choose from an array of attractive looks for your form.
9. At the very bottom of the form, you will see “You can view the published form here” followed by a rather long URL. This is a very important step! Highlight and copy that link.
10. By this time, Google Docs has probably prompted you to save the spreadsheet. If not, click “Save.”
11. Now we want to get this form on your BlackBerry PlayBook, iPad or other tablet device you will be using in the walk-throughs. You can also use the form with a Smartphone, although the size may be too small for you to use comfortably.
12. Open a new e-mail on your computer, paste the link from the bottom of the Google Docs form in the body, and address the e-mail to yourself. Send the e-mail.
13. Go to your PlayBook, iPad, or other tablet. Check your e-mail, looking for the one you sent to yourself.
14. Open the e-mail, and click the link. You should now be looking at your walk-through form.
15. Your tablet should offer you a way to save a URL as a “shortcut” on your home screen. For example, on the PlayBook, you will tap the hollow star and choose “Add to Home Screen.” You have now created an app for the walk-through form.

If you also wish to have the form on your Smartphone, you will repeat the process on that device. Check your e-mail on the Smartphone and open the one containing the link to the walk-through form. Click the link to display the form. Now turn that URL into a desktop shortcut. How this is done will vary from one Smartphone to the next. For example, on a BlackBerry running OS6, click the icon just to the right of the URL address bar. Choose “Add to Home Screen.” You have now just made the walk-through form into an app! You will find its icon on your home screen.

You are ready to start your walk-throughs! Each time you finish a form and touch “Submit,” the data instantly goes into the Google Docs spreadsheet. Each entry is date and time stamped for you!

No more filling out forms and then recopying that data somewhere else! Your data is neatly stored in rows and columns on your Google Docs spreadsheet. Less time spent on paperwork. More time spent on helping good teachers get even better. Life just got easier!

reQall

Create your own reQall account for free.
Also check out Vlingo.


Questions?

For answers to questions others have posed in the past, take a look at these two posts:
Webinar Follow-Up: Answers to Your Questions (Part I)
Webinar Follow-Up: Answers to Your Questions (Part II)


Again, thanks for participating in the webinar series. If one of your goals for the summer is to "Get Organized!" I hope the three hours we spent together will give you a great start.

How Google Docs Saved Us

About this time each year, high schools are busy planning graduation. One of those tasks is securing a graduation speaker, and in most cases is something that happens with little fanfare. April 29, 2009, almost three years ago today, an article broke in our local newspaper which shaped the course for the rest of that day, and paved the way for a great deal of excitement and hard work over the next month.

Months earlier, Superintendent Joanne Horton had the idea to extend an invitation to Dr. Condoleezza Rice to be the high school graduation speaker. Having left the office of Secretary of State several months prior and having ties to Alabama, we thought while it was a long shot, it was a request worth extending. Because it was a long shot, very few were told of the invitation. When a long shot became a reality, the plans remained confidential as many of the details were worked out. One of the decisions made was that our local newspaper, The Daily Home, would be the one to break the story.

And so on April 29 three years ago, the front page story was that of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice coming to town as the high school graduation speaker. And on April 29, the phone started ringing with people who ordinarily would have had no desire to attend a high school graduation asking how they could attend this one.

The ceremony was to take place in the stadium, but in case of rain, having a "Plan B" was a necessity. The school system had a 1,500-seat auditorium, which normally would have been a gracious plenty. Under these circumstances, that auditorium was starting to look very small. In addition, Dr. Rice was still under Secret Service protection, and the Secret Service wanted to know the name of every person who would be attending the ceremony. How in the world were we going to handle the logistics? Enter Google Docs.

I created a Google Docs spreadsheet and entered across the top row the information we would want to know about each attendee: name, address, phone, e-mail, and how many tickets. I created a "form" from the spreadsheet (Tools>Form>Create a form). On the form, I edited the field for "number of tickets" so that instead of being a short-answer blank, it became a drop-down menu with "1" and "2" as the possible choices. I took the link at the bottom of the form and used it to create a link on the school district's blog.

When people called inquiring how to attend graduation, they were simply told to go to the school district's blog and click the link. There, they filled out their requests. As soon as they clicked "Submit," their request automatically populated the next blank line of the spreadsheet, and the request was even date and time stamped.

The Google Docs spreadsheet was shared so that at any time, the superintendent, high school principals, appropriate central office clerical staff, and I could see all of the requests in the order they were received.

Communication needed to happen with every person who had requested tickets. If the event was being held in the stadium, each person needed to be holding a ticket because of the Secret Service requirements. In the case of rain, we had to notify people as to whether they could be accommodated in the 1,500-seat auditorium or whether they would be amongst the overflow watching the ceremony on closed-circuit TV in the high school gym.

We knew how many family members and close friends each graduate would have coming to see him or her, our first priority for seating in the auditorium. We knew how many teachers and their spouses would be attending, our next priority. Selected dignitaries had been invited, and we knew those numbers. Subtract the grand total from 1,500, and we had the number of people from our spreadsheet who we could seat in the auditorium.

We went down the spreadsheet to the point which would serve as the dividing line between who we could seat in the auditorium and who we could not. We copied and pasted all of the e-mail addresses above that line into the bcc line of one e-mail. We sent that group of people an e-mail instructing them where and when to pick up their tickets. The e-mail went on to state that in the event of rain, their ticket would allow them into the auditorium. We highlighted all of the addresses below the line and pasted them into the bcc line of a second e-mail. This e-mail told where and when they could pick up their tickets. But this e-mail stated that in the event of rain, their ticket would allow them into the high school gym where they could watch the ceremony on closed-circuit TV.

All of the requests and all of the communications were handled easily, all due to Google Docs. I had always though of Google Docs as a time-saver. In this case, it was more like a life-saver

Super Demonstration of Uses of Google in the Classroom

This is an outstanding 13-minute video spotlighting practical uses of free Google tools. The intended audience for this video is the classroom teacher.





After watching the video, what concept did you see that you now want to begin to use?

Webinar Follow-Up: Your Questions Answered (Part II)

In this post, we continue with questions posed during the "Free Tech Tools for a More Productive New Year" webinar. In the last post, we answered questions related to Dropbox. Here are questions related to iGoogle, Google Docs forms, and reQall.

1. Will Safari support an iGoogle home page?

Yes. You can use any browser to access your iGoogle page. 

2. You talked about sending e-mails to people who had requested tickets to the graduation ceremony where Dr. Condoleezza Rice was the guest speaker. Did you have to hand enter all of those e-mails?

Composing the email was a matter of copy, paste, and clean-up. I highlighted the column with the e-mails from the first response all the way down to the last person that could have been seated in our auditorium. I then copied and pasted that information into a Word document. Starting with the last name, I hit the "Home" key, "Backspace," a semicolon, and a space. I kept doing that until I had all of the e-mails in one long string that went all the way across the page and wrapped from line to line. I then highlighted and copied the whole block and pasted it into the bcc line of the e-mail.

The next step was to go back to Google Docs and perform the same task with the rest of the e-mail addresses, those for the people who would watch closed-circuit TV from the high school gym.  

3. Can I use Google forms to create a test?

Yes. On one level, it is very easy to create a test on Google Docs. Students would take the test by clicking the link you provide, and their answers would appear on your Google Docs spreadsheet. Instead of having a stack of papers to grade, student answers would all appear in one spreadsheet.

On a different level, it is possible to construct the Google Docs spreadsheet where it will also grade the students' work. The caveat is that the answers must have a one-to-one character match with the answer key. For example, you could do multiple choice tests. You could do spelling tests. Short answer questions would not work since each person's answer may vary slightly in wording from what you entered in the answer key.

For more information on this topic, take a look at this post.


4. I teach English and the readings are rather long for a form. Is there a limit to the length of the question?

I took a passage about half a page in length and pasted it into the spreadsheet. Realize this means pasting the entire block of text into one cell. Google Docs allowed me to do it and displayed all of the text when I created the form.

I found, however, that I could not break the text into paragraphs. If there was a paragraph break, Google Docs would paste the text from paragraph 2 into row 2, text from paragraph 3 into row 3, etc., which is no good. Since the longer passages you are talking about probably more than one paragraph in length, Google Docs would not work for a test with long reading passages.

If anyone else does some playing around with this concept and finds something significant, I would certainly like to know!

5. Does reQall only work with English language? Does it recognize accents?

I had never thought about this point before. I tried having Spanish spoken into reQall, but it became obvious reQall was trying to match what it heard with English words in its database. "¿Habla usted español?" came back as, "Home instead espanol." "Buenos días, señorita" came back, "Buenos dias senor burritto."

6. Do you manage to-dos on reQall or manually enter into your own list?

I personally use reQall for one thing: getting information that comes to me out of my brain and into my e-mail. Then, when I sit down to handle my e-mail, I will see the reQall message I created and act on it. I am a heavy Outlook user and routinely use "drag and drop" to turn e-mails into tasks.If the e-mail is not something I am going to act on right then, I "drag and drop" it to the Task list. I can do any rewording, choose a start and end date for the task, and save.

You could, however, use reQall as your to-do list. In this case, you would download the reQall app to your Smartphone and download the reQall gadget to your iGoogle page. Now, when you speak and include a a term such as "Saturday" or "August 21," reQall automatically assigns the appropriate due date.

In addition, you can manually enter tasks along with due dates on the reQall website or on the reQall Smartphone app. Personally, I like Outlook because it gives me calendar, to-do list, contacts, reference material, and e-mail all in one program. But if you do not have Outlook, using reQall as your to-do list is not a bad option.

7. If we missed the first part of this webinar, is it available online? Will this be archived so we can access it again? I would like to go back over some the of the instructions.

The webinar is now available on demand. Go to this link. If you already registered for the webinar, you will see one link to click. You will be asked for the e-mail address you gave when you registered. The webinar will stay up for around 60 days, so you can watch it as often as you like. We covered a great deal of ground, so watching a second or even third time will help with things you may have missed the first time.

I did notice when I watched the webinar myself that you do not seem to be able to pause the webinar or to skip forwards or backwards. (If I missed something, someone please correct me.) So, pick a time when you could watch straight through without interruption.

8. May I share the archive with colleagues and refer to planners for a conference I attend? 

Absolutely! Have them go to the same link we talked about in the last question. Someone who did not register for the webinar original will see a link which will ask for some information, and then they will be able to proceed with the webinar.

If what you saw would fit with a conference you attend, please share this with with the conference planners. I think people are hungry for practical things they can implement immediately, and that's what I have tried to provide.

9. Where do you find these types of tools? From reading tech mags? I'm just always amazed about these things that exist, yet I've never heard of them!

What a super question and great way for me to plug using Web 2.0 as your personal learning network! I subscribe to over 100 blogs, and use Google Reader to bring all of the new content to one place (on my iGoogle home page) to make it easy.

At the same time, I am pretty ruthless about using as few tools as I get by with. When I read about the capabilities of new tools, I ask myself if I already have something that does pretty much the same thing. If the answer is "yes," and what I have is working, I stick with it. If it's something that fills a void, however, devote some time to mastering it and immediately start using it. Each of the tools you saw in this webinar fit in that second category. There was nothing like them in my arsenal, and each made a huge difference in my productivity.

What other questions do you have about the webinar? If you are just learning about it through reading these last couple of posts, this is your invitation to listen to it and then return here to ask your own questions.

Eye on Education Webinar Follow-Up

If you participated in the Eye on Education webinar, "Free Tech Tools for a More Productive New Year," this post is a follow-up.

Staying Connected
If you liked what you heard and would like more, here are several ways you can keep in touch:

• Check out our website. In addition to general information on what we do, you will find a page of free resources.
• Follow me on Twitter.
• "Like" my Facebook page and check back for updates.
• Subscribe to my free monthly newsletter. 
• Bring new blog posts straight to your e-mail.
• Read Get Organized! and/or Organization Made Easy!
• Bring me to your school or organization.

iGoogle
If you are interested in adding to your iGoogle page some of the same gadgets I have on mine, here is an easy way to get them. As you click each link, you will be taken to a page that describes the gadget and lets you click a button to automatically add it to your iGoogle page.

Google Bookmarks
Google Reader
Yahoo News
Twitter
Facebook 
Bit.ly URL Shortener
Weather
reQall 
Toodledo
People.com
MapQuest Driving Directions
Area/Zip Code Lookup
Music
YouTube
Document to PDF
Movies
GoogleDocs
GoogleCalendar
Google Map Search
Portfolio Monitor
Calculator
Stopwatch
Flight Status
WolframAlpha

Here is how to make iGoogle (your homepage).


Dropbox
Want to set up a Dropbox account? Here is an easy way for you to set up an account and get an extra 250MB of free storage for both you and me. Click here to sign up.

Google Docs Forms
We mentioned briefly about students being able to take tests on the computer which are instantly graded and item analysis conducted. Here is a post that goes into more depth on that concept. (Sorry, we actually didn't get to this one.The link will explain the concept. If this is something your school would serious like to pursue, let me know.)

In a time where tablets are becoming popular, conducting classroom walk-throughs is an extremely practical use of collecting and organizing data.

Here are the steps for creating a walk-through form using Google Docs and then getting that walk-through form onto your tablet.

1. Design your walk-through form on paper. You may wish to begin with a paper form you are already using. Only after you have thought through how you want the form to look should you go to the computer.
2. Log into your Google account and go to docs.google.com. You will see a list of all of the Google Docs you have already created.
3. Click “Create New” and choose “Spreadsheet.”
4. In Row 1 enter each of the questions that will go on the form. (Examples: Teacher name, Subject, Resources Being Used, Objective/Essential question posted?, Student activity, Number of students not actively engaged, Teacher activity, Level of questioning, Overall comments). Press the tab key to go from column to column. Note: You do NOT need to have a column for the date. The date and time of the walk-through will automatically be gathered for you.
5. From the “Tools” menu, choose “Form” and “Create a form.” You will now see a form with your column heading already listed. Below each item will be a short blank where you could enter a response.
6. While some fields lend themselves well to a short answer, for others, a drop-down list, series of check-boxes, paragraph text box, etc. will be a better fit. As you move the mouse down the page, each item will turn a beige color and display a series of icons to the right. Click the pencil icon to decide what type of response you want and create your list of checkboxes, items on drop-down list, etc.
7. Each question will display a “make this a required question” checkbox. It is a good idea to check this box. That will keep you from overlooking an item. Click “Done" when you have finished editing that item.
8. At the top of the form is a button called “Theme.” Click it, and you can choose from an array of attractive looks for your form.
9. At the very bottom of the form, you will see “You can view the published form here” followed by a rather long URL. This is a very important step! Highlight and copy that link.
10. By this time, Google Docs has probably prompted you to save the spreadsheet. If not, click “Save.”
11. Now we want to get this form on your BlackBerry PlayBook, iPad or other tablet device you will be using in the walk-throughs. You can also use the form with a Smartphone, although the size may be too small for you to use comfortably.
12. Open a new e-mail on your computer, paste the link from the bottom of the Google Docs form in the body, and address the e-mail to yourself. Send the e-mail.
13. Go to your PlayBook, iPad, or other tablet. Check your e-mail, looking for the one you sent to yourself.
14. Open the e-mail, and click the link. You should now be looking at your walk-through form.
15. Your tablet should offer you a way to save a URL as a “shortcut” on your home screen. For example, on the PlayBook, you will tap the hollow star and choose “Add to Home Screen.” You have now created an app for the walk-through form.

If you also wish to have the form on your Smartphone, you will repeat the process on that device. Check your e-mail on the Smartphone and open the one containing the link to the walk-through form. Click the link to display the form. Now turn that URL into a desktop shortcut. How this is done will vary from one Smartphone to the next. For example, on a BlackBerry running OS6, click the icon just to the right of the URL address bar. Choose “Add to Home Screen.” You have now just made the walk-through form into an app! You will find its icon on your home screen.

You are ready to start your walk-throughs! Each time you finish a form and touch “Submit,” the data instantly goes into the Google Docs spreadsheet. Each entry is date and time stamped for you!

No more filling out forms and then recopying that data somewhere else! Your data is neatly stored in rows and columns on your Google Docs spreadsheet. Less time spent on paperwork. More time spent on helping good teachers get even better. Life just got easier!

Again, thanks for participating in the webinar. If one of your New Year's resolutions was to "Get Organized!" I hope the hour we spent together will give you a great start.

Free Tech Tools for a More Productive New Year

Free Webinar 

January 10 4:30 EST/3:30 CST 

Click here to register 

iGoogle
Dropbox
Google Docs Forms
reQall

Every year, one of the most popular New Year's resolutions is to"Get Organized!" This free, hour-long webinar shows you how to make life easier with four game-changing technology tools.

This webinar shows you how to:

• Use iGoogle to organize all of your Internet resources. 
• Use Dropbox to instantly backup your documents and give you access to then from anywhere. 
• Use Google Docs to forever change the way you think about paper forms. 
• Use reQall to trap voice notes on the fly. Have them show up as text in your e-mail. 

Are any of these tools brand new to you? If so, this webinar will give you the background you need to get up and going the same day.

Already familiar with one or more? Gain some new ideas for how to use these great tools.

Space is limited, so sign up today!

Instant Grader--Final Project for Online Course

This post is primarily for the benefit of those who, along with me, took an online course entitled "Using Google to Become a 21st Century Administrator." The "final project" of the class involves implementation of what was learned in the course and a presentation of that learning. This video outlines the problem addressed and the solution I created using Google Docs.

Now that you have watched the video, how about taking the Instant Grader for a test drive?

Click here to see what a student would see and take a test. 

Hitting "Enter" will submit the test for grading. Also, scrolling to the bottom of the screen and clicking "Submit" ends the test.

Want to see what the teachers sees? Click here. 

Use the two tabs at the bottom of the screen you see to examine both the raw data and the graded test.

So, what do you think?

Quick Translations for an Entire Word List

I have been a fan of Google's translation tools for some time. Recent developments in GoogleDocs includes spreadsheet formulas which will allow you to enter a word into one cell and view its translation in another cell.

Here is one example of this technique:

In Column A of this GoogleDocs spreadsheet, you may enter any foreign word or phrase. In Column C, you it's English translation is revealed. What about Column B? It's there, but I have adjusted the width so it is almost invisible. The formulas in Column B are actually quite important.

You can duplicate this spreadsheet for yourself. After creating a new GoogleDocs spreadsheet, you will need to create two formulas:

In cell B2, enter =IF(A2="","",DetectLanguage(A2))
In cell C2, enter =IF(A2="","",GoogleTranslate(A2,B2))

Next, you will need to take these two formulas and "fill down" as many rows as desired. Finally, adjust the width of Column B so that it is as narrow as possible.

Let's take a look at what is happening with those formulas.
The part of the formula which says "=IF(A2="",""..." is simply saying if the cell if Column A is blank, leave the corresponding cells in Column B and Column C blank as well.

The real meat is in the last part of the formula. The "DetectLanguage (A2)" returns an abbreviation for the language. I am not really interested in that part, so I made the column very narrow. Having that value, however, is important for the calculation which happens in Column C.

The portion of the second formula which reads "GoogleTranslate(A2,B2)" instructs the spreadsheet to look at the value in A2 and translate if from the language indicated in B2 into English.

The advantage of this spreadsheet over the translation tools which have long been a part of Google is that you may enter an entire list of words or phrases and see all of their translations at one time.

Survey Results are In! Learn About Google Docs Forms

In the post from this past Sunday, I asked for help with a survey. Take a moment to click that link and review the questions.

Here are the results. On a scale of 1 to 10, the average response for each question was as follows:

For a breakdown of each question, you can view this summary, automatically compiled by Google. You can also view the entire data set.

I composed the original post as part of an assignment for an online course I am taking. In addition, however, this is also an opportunity to show how all of this was done. Google Docs, which is where I created the spreadsheet to house the data set, has a function called "forms." You saw the form if you clicked the link at the beginning of this post.

How does the information get from the online form to the spreadsheet? It happens automatically. That's the huge timesaver! Never again do we have to distribute paper forms and spend time transferring information from those forms onto a spreadsheet or table. Google can do it for us! This video show how:



Want more detailed information? The following video is about nine minutes in length and provides a detailed demonstration:



This forms function is surprisingly easy and surprisingly powerful.

How could you use this tool in your personal or professional life?

Most Popular Posts

Blogger has added a "stats" tab. It has evidently been there since May, but I just noticed it a couple of weeks ago. One of the neat features is the ability to see which posts have the most hits. Here are the top three posts:

1. Test Item Analysis Calculator (from June 10, 2010) What if students could sit down computers, take a test, and have the computer return to the teacher a spreadsheet containing the student names and their answers. Furthermore, each answer is graded correct or incorrect, an average calculated for the student, and item analysis performed on each question. That what this post is all about. If this is something that your school would like to pilot, email me and let's talk. This post has received 498 hits.
2. Understanding Facebook Privacy Settings (from July 6, 2010) While we love to communicate through Facebook, we are understandably concerned about our personal information falling into the hands of strangers who have questionable motives. This post received 171 hits.
3. 20+ Ways to use the Flip Video in the Classroom (from August 21, 2010) This post explores exactly what the title says. It has received 139 hits.

Most Popular Posts

Blogger has added a "stats" tab. It has evidently been there since May, but I just noticed it a couple of weeks ago. One of the neat features is the ability to see which posts have the most hits. Here are the top three posts:

1. Test Item Analysis Calculator (from June 10, 2010) What if students could sit down computers, take a test, and have the computer return to the teacher a spreadsheet containing the student names and their answers. Furthermore, each answer is graded correct or incorrect, an average calculated for the student, and item analysis performed on each question. That what this post is all about. If this is something that your school would like to pilot, email me and let's talk. This post has received 508 hits.
2. Understanding Facebook Privacy Settings (from July 6, 2010) While we love to communicate through Facebook, we are understandably concerned about our personal information falling into the hands of strangers who have questionable motives. This post received 173 hits.
3. 20+ Ways to use the Flip Video in the Classroom (from August 21, 2010) This post explores exactly what the title says. It has received 140 hits.

Instant Grader

For those who attend "The End of Paper Forms" session, this post is a follow-up to that session. Our last example was the use of the form aspect of GoogleDocs to allow students to take a test on a GoogleDocs form, have the answers appear in the GoogleDocs spreadsheet, have the individual answers marked correct or incorrect, have the spreadsheet calculate the individual student scores, and have the spreadsheet conduct item analysis on each question.

If you would like to take the sample test, click the link below:

View a sample test here.

You may wish to make up a name, since I have set this example up so that anybody can see the results for everyone's work.


After you have taken the test, want to see how you did? Click this link:
Here is what the teacher sees.


You will see two tabs at the bottom of the screen. On the tab marked "Enter Answer Key," you will be able to view your answers. On the tab marked "View Results," you will see your work graded. You will also see the graded work of others, and an item analysis for each question.

Google Docs: CLAS Conference Follow-Up

Google Docs is a powerful, free tool which allows you to post documents which you can access from anywhere, allow selected others to access from anywhere, or allow selected other to edit from anywhere. During the session at the CLAS Assistant Principal Conference, we looked at several example of its use:

• Handling maintenance requests for a school system.
• Handling ticket requests for an event.
• Gathering survey results.

Here are two posts which will give additional insight into the use of Google Docs

• Google Docs in Plain English This short video gives an overview of the concept with just enough depth to get you started.
• Love Letters Through Google Docs If collaboration is your aim, this whimsical video demonstrates how multiple people can view, edit, and improve a document.

Google Tools in Comic Form

Google has a great little online comic book which outlines the free tools available. Click here to take a look.

Google Docs

Quite a few people in our school system, as well as readers from all over, now have blogs. At some point, bloggers will have a document or a PowerPoint presentation that to share with students or the whole world (which on the Internet is really the same thing).

Problem: How can I post a document somewhere?

Answer: Google Docs

Google Docs is a free service which allows you to upload Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations. You can allow others to view them. You can allow selected other people to even change them. This video explains the concept: