Are you ready to experience a game-changer in your teacher life? Let me tell you, when I made the switch to taking data electronically, my teaching world transformed! It was like magic-less paper clutter, seamless data storage from year to year, and a whole lot of stress off my shoulders. I couldn’t wait to share this incredible journey with you! So buckle up because we’re about to embark on a data-taking adventure that will make your teaching life a breeze! Let’s dive in and unlock the secrets of electronic data collection!
Digital Data Set-Up Guide:
Log into your Gmail account and go to the “waffle” in the top right corner. Find the icon that says “forms.” Sometimes you need to hit the “more” button at the bottom to get other options, but it is somewhere.
Click the rainbow + to start a new form.
Now it’s time to create a title for your form. I like to include the student’s name, the year, and the goal area for the form. You might also want to include the semester or grading period # if you want a separate form for each. Next, in the description, I state the goal. Sometimes I say the goal word-for-word, but other times I state the goal in layman’s terms. Often, paraprofessionals will take data for you (they should be taking it for you). I like to state the goal so that it is easily understood.
It is time to create the “questions” you will be answering to take your data. My first question is always “what is the date?” However, you might want to leave this step out if you are always taking data in real time. Google will give you a timestamp for when the form was filled out, but sometimes we don’t always fill in the form on the day the data occurred. For each question you create, you must choose how you want the response to be given (i.e., multiple choice, drop-down, short answer, etc.). I would choose “multiple choice” as often as you can because it’s quicker to choose an answer when taking data vs. having to type something in.
After asking for the date, I like to ask what prompt the student needed to complete the task. Many of my students need specific prompts before they can produce a skill independently. Based on your needs, you might not need to include this step. The question asks, “what prompt did Johnny need?” I use the “multiple-choice” option to list possible prompts.
Next, we need a way of knowing how the student performed. You can do this two ways.
- record the % accuracy over several trials
- one trial at a time (record yes/no).
You might want to record one trial at a time while completing a probe or recording data without repeating trials. If I’m recording % accuracy over several trials, my form will ask “What was the percentage of accuracy?” and I use multiple choice (10, 20, 30, 40%…). If I’m recording one trial at a time, my question might ask “Did Johnny complete __?” or “Was Johnny successful?” In this case I will still use multiple choice, but my possible responses will be either “yes” or “no.”
Congratulations! Your digital data form is now complete. Now, let’s set up our form so we can access it quickly. In the upper right-hand corner, click “send.” A box will pop up. Click the little “link” symbol as seen below. We are now going to create a QR code for the link. Copy the link and enter it into a free QR Code generator. There are many free generators out there but click here for one I like to use.
Save the QR code to your computer. Then, open a Word or PowerPoint document. Next, insert the QR code. Print the page and display it in your classroom. You or your paraprofessionals can quickly scan the QR code and take the necessary data! Print each QR code as many times as you want! You can cut out the code, glue it onto an index card, laminate it, and place it on a keyring instead of hanging it in a stationary location. Make sure you label each QR code with the student and goal area so you can keep track of which QR code tracks each goal.
Explanation of Answer Types:
Google forms has added many different answer types recently. Here is a run-down of each answer type and when you might want to use each one:
- Short answer/paragraph– recording ABC data, parent communication, entering name of staff taking the data
- multiple choice/check boxes/drop down– each of these options are basically the same thing, just formatted differently. Use these options to quickly click the percentage of accuracy, a yes/no question, select which aspect of the goal is being targeted or if you want to list all possible staff who will be taking data
- file upload– upload a photo of student work sample
- linear scale– rate the intensity of a student’s behavior
- Date– record the date the data occurred
- Time– record what time a behavior occured
Congratulations
You’ll be a digital data pro in no time! Just remember, ultimately you should set up your data form in the way that makes sense for you! Don’t want to be totally on your own? Sign up to receive a free digital data form template. Here, I give you the starting point and you can edit it to meet your student’s individual needs. Check out the digital data form template below.
Next Steps:
Once you start your digital data collection journey, there’s no stopping you! — Until it’s progress report time and you need to analyze the data. Check out the blog post below to learn how to analyze your Google forms data.