e-Learning Post #6

Posted: June 15, 2011 | Author: Cheri | Filed under: Distance Ed, e-Learning, Teaching |Leave a comment »

Google Forms for Peer Evaluations

Over the years, as I’ve designed group projects for students, there’s always been an issue with the division of labor. A student or two always seem to do all the work … and students aren’t about to come to me and tattle on the slackers who they’re so frustrated with. So about five years ago I figure out how to create online forms using DreamWeaver. I created a peer evaluation form and had students fill one out for everyone in their groups. Then all I had to do was average the scores and add them into each student’s project grade.

Now, with Google Forms, I can have a peer evaluation up and running in about 15 minutes – once I have the questions, that is. This is the peer evaluation form I use with my undergraduates: Peer Evaluation.

Here’s a quick tutorial and some resources.

Building your form

Write out the questions you want to ask – have an idea of the type of questions
Log into Google and go to your Documents
Click on Create new – then choose Form - the new form will appear in a new tab (or browser page)
Give the form a title
Choose the Question Type

Start typing in your questions

You can add questions by clicking on the +Add Item icon on the left at the top, or you can copy a question you’ve already created by clicking on the icon to the left of the trash can of any question you are editing.

While you’re building your form, you can check to see what it looks like.

At the bottom of your browser screen you’ll see: You can view the published form here
Click on the link

You can reorder the questions by clicking and dragging
If the questions need extra explanations, you can use the Help Text text box
You can also force a response by clicking on Make this a required question
Once you’re happy with your questions, you can personalize the form by changing the theme

Click on Theme: Plain in the upper left hand corner – you’ll see almost 100 choices
Click on one and see if you like it

If you do, click Apply
If not, click Cancel

Make sure to go to the live form to see how the theme works with your questions – the themes are very different and not all allow for good viewing of the questions.

Final Steps

You can give students access to the form by choosing one of the following before you close the form you’re editing:

Send the form in an email

Click on Email this form in the upper right corner of the form
Enter the email addresses of your students

Paste the link in your course website

Click on the link at the bottom of your browser
Copy and paste that link on a website

Embed the form in a website – wiki, blog, etc.

Click on More actions in the upper right corner of the form
Copy the embed code and use it in your wiki or blog

As your students fill out the form, the information goes into a spreadsheet that you will see in your Google Docs list.

NOTE: When I first started using Google Forms it took me a while to figure out how to find the form to edit after I closed it out. Follow these steps: