Behavior Data and Google Forms

Data is an essential part of teaching, and we all have a grade book for keeping track of who is passing and failing. Many of us also collect data on behavior.  Paperwork and carbon-copy forms are the weak link in my behavioral management and behavior grades. That's why I use Google Forms! A Google form allows for faster, more accurate records and better access.

On a computer, using Google Drive, you can build a survey with questions that pertain to the behavior. That's a screen shot of mine. In my class students are given a green card for good behavior and a red card for bad behavior. They put what they think they were doing wrong on the card and then put it on a large graph with an "X" axis for Respect and a "Y" axis for Responsibility. Their name does not go on the card, but it does go into this Google Survey, along with their hour number.

This behavioral data can be accessed from anywhere. An IEP meeting, team meeting, parent/teacher conference, and at home. If your entire grade-level or school has a discipline system it could be shared across an entire school, with every teacher contributing and accessing data at a central location. The data can be used to determine when students are most likely to act up. Are they misbehaving because it's at the end of the day? Or are they misbehaving only in male teachers' classes? Why is this student so well behaved in Mr. J's class? Maybe Mr. J has figured out how to reach this student. There's a new kid coming to our school, who has an excellent behavior record and could be trusted to show this student around? These kinds of insights are invaluable.

This page has been added to the home screen of my iPad and bookmarked on my computer. It can be accessed and completed in about 15 seconds. When it comes time to do behavior grades, the spread sheet is opened up, ordered by Period Number and grades are handed out based on the data. If a parent calls to ask about their child's behavior grade I can tell them specifically what they did to earn the grade.

One note of caution: Google has very good security and with a good password your data should be safe, but there's no guarantee. If possible try to limit the personally identifiable information in your forms to avoid running afoul of  FERPA.

If you have any questions on exactly how to construct a Google Form or suggestions on what to do, please share them below as a "Comment."

Dragon Dictation in Language Arts

Dragon Dictation is a free app that turns speech into type. So instead of typing you can talk to the iPad and it will type the whole thing up to the best of its abilities, and it is fairly capable. In the classroom, this can be an invaluable app for students who have trouble writing as fast as they think, or for students who don't have the faintest idea how to spell a word. It's hard to use a dictionary if you're unaware of the silent "p" in "pterodactyl" or the "f" sound created by a "ph."

Teaching with Memes

That's a Meme! You've probably seen them before, but you may not have considered their potential for teaching. Students love memes; they're a quick, trendy form of expression,  and easy to make. You can use a website like Meme Generator or an app like Memematic, but be warned that schools often block meme websites, and with good reason. Some memes have adult language, and that's why I strongly recommend Memematic. It has the popular backgrounds, but none of them are captioned.

While most meme websites allow you to create your own backgrounds, some of the existing memes are the best. You may not realize it, but most popular memes have rules. For example, a proper Yoda meme places the subject and verb at the end of the sentence. The Ducreux meme replaces rap lyrics with grandiose vocabulary. Advice Mallard provides useful advice and Philosoraptor asks deep questions.

Yoda and Ducreux are the two memes I've used the most.

My first unit in Language Arts is a science-fiction one, but at the start of the year it's important to do some review and get an idea of where students are and what they remember. We start with complete sentences; structure; and subject, object and verb. Then, the students read this great article by Grammar Girl and learn about how subject, verb and object are used by us and Yoda. Then, they hop on Memematic and construct a Yoda meme. The meme must go object, subject, verb and end with a period. This assesses their ability to acquire knowledge from text and to use subject, object and verb to construct a complete sentence.

The week after Yoda, students reviewed parts of speech and one of the less well-known parts of speech is the interjection. An interjection is a statement that lacks grammar and is added purely to convey emotion. There's a popular Star Trek meme in which Captain Picard is celebrating an epic win. I posted the picture on my Edmodo page and we held a photo captioning contest. To qualify your submission had to have an interjection. "Yes! They just gave me forty hours on the holodeck," was the winning entry, followed closely by, "Hallelujah, my warp rash cleared up."

Ducreux is usually used with rap songs, but many times (my class included) it is used on any song. Students use a thesaurus to change their favorite lyrics into something way more complicated. In the process they're exposed to the practically infinite supply of synonyms and the concept of forgotten, archaic words.

Another popular meme that we've probably all seen is the "What society thinks I do...What I really do," and it's a collection of 2-6 pictures showing the different ways people look at the same subject. Reading a piece of fiction where different characters are seeing things in very different ways? Make a meme for it! Examining the the Founding Father's different views on Federalism? Make a meme for it!

Lastly, you can make your own memes! Find a picture of George Washington or King George and try to think of rules for what they would say. Choose an element from the periodic table. The only limit is your imagination! The fact that it is a meme will really bring up student enthusiasm and it takes only minutes to create a meme. It's a very quick form of assessment.

LucidChart for Cluster Maps and Diagrams

Venn diagrams, cluster charts, and other idea organizing techniques have taken a huge step forward with computers. It's much easier to arrange these charts now that things can be clicked and dragged. The best chart-maker out there right now is LucidChart; it is free, web-based, integrated into Google Drive, and works well on tablets and computers. There are some paid features, but I've never used them and don't think I ever will.

It comes with lots of different templates, like Venn Diagrams, and it's easy to build your own chart. Head to Google Drive or Lucid Chart next time you need to compare similarities and differences between two characters, layout the stages of mitosis, or cluster states by their allegiance in the Civil War.

MoveNote for Direct Instruction and Proofreading

Movenote, like most everything else I use and share on ClassApps, is free. It can be accessed via tablet and computer--there's even a Chrome app! So, what does it do? Movenote records you and a slideshow, document or photograph side-by-side. On one side of the screen you can upload slideshows from your computer or Google Drive and on the other side you can narrate or lecture on it. This is done by connecting a webcam and hitting record. The app only allows you to add photographs, so if you have a webcam, it's much easier to do this on a computer.

There are two ways that I use this in my classroom. The first is to create short, direct instruction videos. This allows me to record, and re-record as many times as it takes to get my lecture just right. It also allows my students to watch the slide-show as many times as they need to; pausing, rewinding and skipping ahead to fit their own needs. 

The second is for proofreading. Logistically, it's not possible to watch all my students proofread. It's a critical step in the writing process and one that my students often skip. With MoveNote they can photograph (or screen shot) their writing, add it to MoveNote, and record themselves proofreading it. This is tremendously valuable to both the teacher and the student. It provides me with proof that they really did proofread their paper, and it allows the students to hear their writing and listen for strengths and weaknesses in sentence fluency, ideas, word choice presentation, and other traits. They could do this with the regular "Camera" app or a sound recorder, but seeing the paper there on the screen is more fun and makes assessment faster. In terms of reading fluency, I think there's a lot to be learned from watching a student's eyes move across the screen and see when they move smoothly, double back, or stop completely.

Padlet for Informal Assessment and Class Discussions

Note: This is an update on the post "Pinterest in the Classroom."

Informal assessment is such a wonderful tool because it's quick and gives me an immediate fix on what my students are thinking, learning, and understanding. A show of hands is nice, but it's hard to remember who knows what and exit slips create a mountain of paper. In my opinion, the best informal assessment is open ended; requires the student to analyze, apply, evaluate or create; and leaves a lasting record that can be easily accessed for diagnostic purposes.

Enter Padlet (formerly known as WallWisher), this web-based bulletin board fills all my standards for a great informal assessment platform, it works well on computers and tablets, and it has some great options.

Setting up a Padlet is easy. You go to Padlet, sign-up, or log in using your Google account (and at this point, every teacher should have a Google account). There are some tutorial videos available, but they're not really necessary. The symbol-based buttons are pretty intuitive. Press "+" button to create a new Padlet wall. Give it a name and in the "description" box explain what you want your students to do.

The "settings" are accessed through a little gear shaped button, and it's the settings where Padlet really sets itself apart. Not only does it have the usual collection of options, like custom backgrounds and "share" options. There are thre settings that I really like: 1) An option to moderate the Padlet and approve all posts; 2) An option to put posts into a nice neat column or put it it wherever you want; 3) The ability to set the password for your Padlet. My Padlets always have passwords and they're usually vocabulary words, characters or other single word answers relevant to the topic. This provides its own source of assessment, and more importantly, helps to ensure students have at least some requisite knowledge on the topic and aren't just trying to rush through it.

Best of luck and please share your successes and challenges here!