1. Google Forms

Unfamiliar with all the different types of questions you can ask in a Google Form?
What is Response Validation?
 Response validation helps you make sure you get an answer that fits your needs.
  • Answer length (set minimum or maximum  characters)
  • Email or phone number validation
  • Checking number length (like ID numbers)
Pro-tip!
Turn on  notifications so you know when a form has been submitted.
In the menu go to  Tools > Notification Rules
You can  have it email you immediately or daily when someone submits a form.
Google Forms are not just for surveys!
This is a detailed explanation of forms and ways to set up some activities. <-- link fixed

2. Google Sheets

New to sheets? Like gamification and earning badges? Do this Blast-off with Sheets activity created by Alice Keeler.
  • Click the link above and make a copy.
  • Select your task  from the list.
  • Your data set is on the tab marked Data.
Here is a brief tutorial on how to make a scatterplot graph, common in science and math. You can use it with students.
These features make working with spreadsheets so much easier:
  • freezing rows and columns (like headings)
  • hiding columns and rows
  • sorting columns
  • filtering columns
These are all shown in the activity above or you can see basic instructions here:
My favorite formulas for sheets:
  • =SUM(range:range) it adds things up
  • =COUNT(range:range) - it does what it says "count." There are also variations like COUNTIF and COUNTUNIQUE.
  • =AVERAGE (range:range), averages values. There are variations for this one too.
  • SPLIT will take things like roster data (Cool, Stacey) and split it into two or more cells removing the comma or the space.
  • You can also do math in cells.  Lead with the = sign and then use + - * / for your basic mathematical operations. It can also handle trig functions & statistics.
My favorite keyboard commands:
  • ctrl-z (undo)*
  • ctrl-c (copy)*
  • ctrl-v (paste)*
  • ctrl-b (bold)*
  • ctrl-u (underline)*
  • ctrl-i (italics)*
  • ctrl-d (used to copy text or a formula down a column)**
  • ctrl-r (used to copy text/formula to the right across a row)**
* Works anywhere in Google and Microsoft.
** Also works in Excel
Free Technology for Teachers just wrote a blog post about 5 neat things you can do with Google Sheets:
  • Map spreadsheets data
  • Create multimedia timelines
  • Guided/automatic data visualization
  • Email reminders
  • Grade student assignments (I wrote about it above)

3. Add-ons for Forms & Sheets

Add-ons run on Google Forms, Sheets, and Docs. They are small programs that add features that help you with tasks, like sending emails & feedback,  turning off forms, limiting responses, print labels, etc.

Flubaroo is one of my all-time favorite add-ons!  You can use it to grade data from Google Forms.  It is more powerful than Google Forms  Quiz option as it can handle multiple correct answers, spelling variations and open-ended questions easier. You can also easily control feedback and emailing students. More about Flubaroo here.  Or you can just install it directly here.
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