Track Who Has Completed Your Form and More in the Latest Version of Google Forms

Over the last few months Google has tried to persuade people to use the new version of Google Forms. I, like many others, have been reluctant to change because the new version lacks some of the functions that I love about the older version of Google Forms. Today, I received an email from Brooks Hocog, who works at Google, informing me that the features many of us have wanted in the new version of Google Forms will be rolling out soon (some users may already see the latest updates).

The latest update to the new version of Google Forms brings with it support for Forms Add-ons and Google Apps Scripts. You will now be able to use Add-ons like g(math) and Choice Eliminator in the new version of Google Forms. 

Google Forms users within a Google Apps for Education domain will now be able to directly track who has and who hasn't completed a Form. You will have to send direct invitations to your Form in order for this function to work. The great thing about this function is that if you see someone hasn't completed your Form, you can send him or her a reminder through the "send reminder email" function in Forms. 

Here's Brooks Hocog's run-down of some other new and or updated options in Google Forms. 

• Use Templates from the Google Forms home screen: Use the templates now available on the Forms home screen to jumpstart your Form creation. We currently offer templates for customer feedback, event sign-ups, quizzes, and more.

• Email notifications on Form submit: You can now get real-time email notifications when someone responds to your form.

• View individual responses from the Forms editor: In addition to the summary of responses currently available in the Forms editor, you can now see individual survey responses as well. This will save you valuable time when analyzing your Forms. You can also print or delete individual responses from this screen.

Photos for Class + Canva = Fun Animal Stories

Photos for Class is a great tool for locating Creative Commons licensed images that your students can use in all kinds of projects. The great thing about Photos for Class is that when students download an image from the site all of the attribution information that they need is included in the image's footer.

This afternoon I saw a neat example of using Photos for Class to create a simple meme or one-image story. The example was on the Storyboard That Facebook page (Storyboard That owns Photos for Class). In the example they had an image of a polar bear and a fun fact about polar bears.

When I saw the sample this afternoon I immediately recognized how easy and fun it could be for students to create their own animal stories through a combination of Photos for Class and Canva. You could have students search for a picture of an animal on Photos for Class then upload it to Canva where they could put it into any of the Canva templates to create a small poster or online graphic. Students could then add some fun facts in the form of text written over the image. See my example below.

The Photos for Class search tool can be added to your classroom, library, or school website. A video on that process is available here.

How to Compare Maps Side-by-Side in GE Teach

Last week I wrote a post in which I featured using GE Teach to compare maps side-by-side. GE Teach can be a powerful tool when you dive into the features hidden within it. In the video embedded below I demonstrate how to access and use the features of GE Teach.

How to Create Historical Facebook Profiles With Google Drawings

Creating a fake Facebook profile for a character in a book or of a famous person in history could be a good way to get students interested in writing about that person. Doing that on Facebook.com is a violation of Facebook's terms of service, but there are ways to create fake Facebook profiles without using Facebook.com. One of those ways is to use Derrick Waddell's Facebook template for historical figures. The template is a Google Drawings template. In the video embedded below I demonstrate how to use the template.