Painless Technology Integration

Google Forms

2011-10-17T08:12:00.000-07:00

Want to create an online quiz? Or quickly gather data? Make a paperless workshop evaluation? Use Google Forms, a part of the popular online application software called Google Docs. Google Forms can be shared via blogs, websites, or wikis. The data is automatically collected in a spreadsheet that can be viewed, sorted, printed, and/or graphed.

If you already have a Google account, go to www.docs.google.com and sign in with your email and password.

If you don’t have a Google account:

Go to www.docs.google.com.
Click on the link at the top right corner of the page that says Sign up for a new Google Account.
Select which email account you want to use as your login.
Fill out the rest of the Create an Account information.
Click on the “I accept. Create my account.” button at the bottom of the page.

Seven different types of questions are available for inclusion in your Google Form: text (short answer), paragraph text (long answers), multiple choice (pick one), check box (select all that apply), choose from a drop-down list, scale (rate the following), and a grid.

To create a form, click the drop-down arrow on the Create button and then select Form. Then start adding questions. Just as easy as that! To edit the form, position your cursor over the question to be edited and then select one of the three tools that appear at the right (edit, copy, or delete).

To view the data, double-click on the form’s name to open it in a Google spreadsheet. Then from the Form menu, select Edit form. A really great feature is the ability to also see the data as a graph. Open it in the spreadsheet, then from the Form menu, select Show summary of responses.

Creating a Crossword Puzzle in a Spreadsheet

2011-09-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

Crossword puzzles are fun ways to encourage students to review their vocabulary. Graph paper and pencil are great, but my students were usually tripped up by the actual crossword puzzle numbering and the tedious task of coloring the non-word-holding squares. One mess up, and they had to start over.

Microsoft Excel (or any spreadsheet for that matter) and its “comment” option can be used to create an electronic crossword puzzle.

Part 1: Creating the puzzle

1. Start Microsoft Excel.

2. Format the cells so that they are square.

a. Click on the gray space at the top left corner of the worksheet.

b. Click and drag on the divider between columns to adjust the column width.

c. Click and drag on the divider between rows to adjust the row height.

d. Click anywhere on the worksheet to unselect the area.

3. Type the crossword words into the cells, one letter of each word per cell.

4. Apply a border to the cells that will contain a letter of the puzzle.

a. Click and drag to highlight the cells that contain the letters of a word.

b. From the Formatting toolbar, click the drop down arrow of the Borders button.

c. Click the All Borders option.

d. Repeat for all the words of the puzzle.

5. Fill the cells that don’t contain any letters.

a. Click and drag to select the cells that will not contain any letters.

b. From the Formatting toolbar, click the drop down arrow next to the Fill Color bucket.

c. Click to select a color.

6. Format the font and cell alignment.

a. Click and drag to select all the cells in the puzzle.

b. Select a font size and font style from the Formatting menu.

c. With the cells still selected, click on the Center Alignment button.

7. Your puzzle should look something like the one below.

Part 2: Entering the clues

Entered using the spreadsheets’ comments.

Click once on a cell where the first letter of a word will be typed.
Right click on the cell.
Select Insert Comment.
A comment box will appear.
Type your clue for the word.
Click anywhere else on the spreadsheet and the comment box will disappear.

Since a comment is now attached to the cell, a small red triangle will be visible in the upper right corner. To view the comment, move the cursor over the cell.

To edit a comment:

· Right click on the cell containing a comment.

· Click on Edit comment.

· Make changes and then click anywhere else on the spreadsheet.

To delete a comment:

· Right click on the cell containing a comment.

· Click on Delete comment.

Save the file.

Chain Writing

2011-09-20T18:54:00.001-07:00

Sometimes it takes me a while to warm up to the task of writing. It’s no different for many students. To help them get those creative juices flowing, try this writing activity. There’s very little prep time for teachers (just a few starter sentences for the kids) and it only takes about thirty minutes of class time.

Have students:

1. Open a word processor and start a new document.

2. Type the beginning topic (selected by either yourself or the teacher).

3. Write for two minutes about that topic.

4. When the timer sounds, re-read what you have written.

5. Click and drag to select one sentence or phrase that you particularly like. Choose something that stirs additional thoughts so you will be able to expand on what you've already written.

6. Copy what you've selected.

7. Go to the end of the document and press Enter twice to start a new paragraph.

8. Paste what you've copied.

9. Write about that topic for two minutes.

10. Select another phrase or sentence from this second writing and copy and paste it to start a third paragraph.

11. Write for two minutes.

Now catch a breath. Read what’s been written. Maybe share it with another person. Search for a jewel or a small nugget worth keeping. Expand it. Work on it. It can be turned into a full treasure.

Microsoft Excel: A Student Volunteer Selector

2011-09-14T06:09:00.000-07:00

Tired of choosing student volunteers by picking names from a hat (or a jar or from names painstakingly listed on pop-sickle sticks)? Microsoft Excel is a simple solution to randomly picking those student volunteers.

Here’s how.

1. The Student List – Open a new Excel file and type student names as a list in the first column. For the purposes of this example, let’s say you have 20 students in your list.

2. The Formula Parts – The formula for selecting a student is a combination of the Index function and the Randbetween function. The Index function selects a word or number from a list and has the following format:

= Index(range, row number, column number)

The Randbetween function randomly generates a number when a key or combination of keys tells Excel to recalculate the spreadsheet (see step 6 below). For example, if we wanted to generate a number from 1 through 8, the formula would look like this:

=Randbetween(1, 8)

3. Our Formula – To make OUR formula, we are going to combine these two functions so that we randomly pick a student (a row) from the names listed in column one. Your formula might look like this:

=Index(A1:A20,Randbetween(1,20),1)

In English it says to use the range of names in cells A1 through A20 (A1:A20), then randomly select a row number (Randbetween(1,20) because we have 20 names in our list) from the names that are listed in column 1.

4. A Couple of “Random” Notes –

Note 1: The second number of the Randbetween function will need to be the same as the number of students in your list. So if you have 25 students in your class the formula would become Randbetween(1,25).

Note 2: If you are using Office 2003 or 2004, in order for the Randbetween function to work you have to add the Analysis Toolpack. To do this, click on the Tools menu, select Add-Ins, and then place checkmarks next to the first two options. This will need to be done for each computer that you’ll be using a Randbetween function on.

3. Hide the Student List – Select column one and change the font to white.

4. Select a Student – Press one of the following key combinations to randomly select a new name from your list.

PC (Office 03/07/10): Press the F9 key.

Mac (Office 04/08/11): Press the Command plus the Equal keys

Open Office Calc: Press Shift plus Ctrl plus F9 keys

The great thing about using Excel for a student selector is that as new students are added to your class, you just add them to your Excel list and change the number in the Randbetween formula. It also keeps students alert because there is no guarantee that once they’ve been selected that they are off the hook for the rest of the class period.