C&RL Google Spreadsheet Assessment Article - FAQ

The latest issue of C&RL News, (October 2012, Vol 73 no. 9), contains an article I wrote on Google Spreadsheets and Real Time Assessment. I have been wonderfully overwhelmed with the daily email responses. So, a huge thanks to all those busy librarians that took the time to read it.

Due to the responses and inquiries, I thought I would put together a little FAQ here that would include information on some of the more frequent questions, some work-arounds and future suggestions. I did not include all of the practical information about HOW to create this spreadsheet in the article, because the article was more about how and why I got around to using the spreadsheet. The practical details are included in a Google document that is linked to in the article and right here. If you plan to use this method in your classroom for the first time, it's imperative that you review this document in order to avoid common pitfalls.

FAQ for using Google Spreadsheets for Real Time Assessment

 

Q.  What if my students don't have Google Accounts?
A. Your students don't need Google accounts. You just need to make it public AND editable for anyone with the link. Check out #6 in Shannon's 10 Steps to Creating a Google DRIVE Spreadsheet for Real Time Assessment.

Q. I copied the link and changed it to a tiny URL but the students still can't edit the document.
A. Make sure you carefully read through Shannon's 10 Steps to Creating a Google Drive Spreadsheet (above), paying close attention to everything detailed in #6. You need to make sure that anyone with the link can EDIT the document.

Q. I was thinking of assessment as more about how the session went, or how to assess my instruction. Is there some way I could incorporate that into the spreadsheet?
A. As a matter of fact, there is. If you feel super confident with Google Drive options then you could create an assessment survey of your spreadsheet assessment. Seems pretty meta, right? This is how it would work, and I've actually done it. Before class you create a Google Survey. You can pick out a nice looking template and everything. Just ask a few short questions, like,What did you learn? and What are you still unclear about? and perhaps a space for them to enter an email address so you can get back to them. You can then copy and paste the link to the survey into each student's row in the spreadsheet. If you leave enough time at the end of class, (does anyone EVER have enough time at the end of class?) then you can  attempt to answer their questions as they come in. A spreadsheet will self-create in Google Drive showing responses to the survey. The responses will also be in real time.

Q. Are you available for parties?
A. Yes, but I insist on bringing my guinea pig, Valentino. He has a tux, and does not bite.

Q. I think my students might cheat off each other if I do this.
A. One of the ways that you can avoid this, is to make sure that the students each have their own individual research topic, or assign them separate topics to research. I recently had a group from a typography class that had yet to figure out their topics. Normally I'm not thrilled at this prospect, however, I gave them some fun, more notorious typographers to research. (Like, the creator of Comic Sans, ack!.) They ended up having fun with it and they were pretty engaged. (I only gave them the names of the type designers and not what they actually designed. That made things fun.)

Q. This sounds good, but I'm a little nervous about trying it in a live classroom.
A. Try it with colleagues first. It really does take some getting used to, so I would let out a little lead with a couple of other instruction librarians before attempting this in front of a live audience. It will ease your worries and provide more benefit to the students.

Q. I'm thinking about using this for an online course.
A. I think that's a great idea! Especially if the class meets online all together at a certain time. I think that would be an ideal way to conduct an instruction session. That said, you will have to do even more multi-tasking in order to keep up. I think you'll have to be fairly organized. Now, if the class does not meet all together, I think this has the potential to be a nice way to monitor their research progress. I've never used this online, so I'd love to hear how it goes!

Q. I had my students working in groups and one group deleted the work of the other students!
A. That's awful! I've never had that happen on purpose, but I suppose that is a potential pitfall. Since you most likely know which student(s) had which topics, you can tell who is deleting. One solution might be to require them to do the other student's research before leaving the classroom.

Q. Can the students access the spreadsheet after class?
A. Yes, and the professor can embed it in their courseware if they feel brave.

One of the benefits I'm finding from using the spreadsheet this semester, is that no matter how much my instruction changes, I can easily change the spreadsheet tasks right along with it. It's also an easy way to throw together a last minute session. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know how things worked out for you! Thanks for reading! ssimpson@towson.edu

Auld Lang Blog

We're a week and a half away from the New Year, and I feel like I didn't get anything done, (folds arms across chest and sticks out bottom lip). And, then I reviewed my blog from 2011 and my lord have I had a full year!

I accepted my new position in January and got to work as an art librarian and archivist. Then I got to travel to Midwinter in San Diego -so great! My dance card was full catching up over early morning and late night meals with fellow librarians. I got to stay with friends and family in SoCal while attending sessions and getting residency things squared away. It wasn't exactly a vacation, but it sure felt like one.

In February with new classes to teach I also had a brief brush with fame while guest blogging for The Desk Set. That was a fun and strange experience. I have my own blog... but, I'm blogging for someone else, virtually about the same stuff.... Well, it was a good experience! Then in March I got the flu and I'd like to say I learned a lesson, but I STILL have not gotten my flu shot yet this year. (I'm going to hell.) Then there was ACRL in Philadelphia where I also managed to attend really amazing sessions and learned a lot. Most memorably from a Towson colleague, David Dahl, that gave a great presentation on capturing ideas.

In April I started talking about how I use Google Docs and a few librarians here have implemented my design into their classrooms, which is really neat to see! I guest blogged on the subject and did a short presentation at a local workshop and am keeping my fingers crossed over a national publication on the topic in 2012.

I took a hiatus and a fellow resident, Hannah Lee (check out posts), and fellow Kent State grad, Melissa Ravely, (check out posts), stepped up with some great guest posts. When I returned I found out that I was accepted to present at two national conferences. I did one presentation on my oral history project in October but not having sound, despite being assured there was audio, (among a couple of other glitches), turned the whole experience into a complete flop. My head is still partially buried in the sand from that one. I'm hoping to make a comeback, however, when I facilitate a panel on residencies at ALA Anaheim in June -thank goodness we won't need anything other than Powerpoint for that!

What else? I wrote a Manifesto, talked about an Occupy Wall Street Guide, and... What am I forgetting? Oh yes, I had a baby. And yeah, all that mushy gushy, "best thing that ever happened to me," blah blah blah, yadda, yadda, yadda, is all true. I couldn't go into all of that if I tried. But, suffice it to say that if you run into me with my phone and ask about the baby, you will be stuck watching me flick through my online photo album while sighing wistfully over how she's grown so much in the last 7 months. I hope you won't have any plans immediately following our hypothetical rendezvous, because you won't make them. Go ahead and cancel them now. I'll wait. Take your time. Did I mention our READ posters? If you're in my family a framed edition may be coming to you for the holidays this year. What better gift than the gift of me! (She remarked, modestly.)

What's next? Well, I have a lot of irons in the fire. I think that's the way to make it in this complex academic librarian world. I've submitted to present with a number of colleagues on different subjects at next year's JCLC, (Joint Conference of Librarians of Color), and am waiting to hear back. I'm also hurriedly working on getting some publications finished before students return to campus and teaching consumes my every moment. I also have my dates set for working on my oral history project this year, and this new group of students are so excited based on the little video I showed them. I'm also putting together a proposal to teach an honors course in the fall that incorporates the oral history project. So, it looks as if next year is shaping up to be just as busy, if not more so than last. I'm getting a little excited! Bah-RING IT!

Interactive Blogging: Check out a Movie Trailer & Vote for the Next Bookie Post

I just saw an amazing movie on campus in conjunction with a slew of different departments. I was completely blown away and am recommending the film to everyone I see. While I hate making broad sweeping statements, for brevity purposes, let me just say that it was not only an amazing insight into how our society continues to confine those with autism, despite the ability of many to display high levels of intelligence, but also as just a really lovely film. Here's the trailer:

I was also wondering what your thoughts are on what I should blog about next. I know I've been so neglectful, but that's only because I am working on so many projects and new things that are all very exciting. (Ah, once again I'm making excuses.) So, please take my poll below from now until Wednesday, October 26th, so that I can best optimize my time for your benefit, and bring you what you would like to read about most. See you back here with your chosen post on Wednesday, Nov. 2nd!

Google Docs and Real Time Assessment

So, assessment is like this really big deal in, well pretty much everything these days. And library sessions are certainly not exempt. And, I'll come clean and admit that I'm not a huge fan of doing assessment or talking about assessment or talking AND thinking about assessment, etc. etc.. In fact, one time in a meeting when they were looking for volunteers for the "assessment committee" I quickly donned my invisibility cloak and quietly left the room undetected. HOWEVER, I do want to know what works and what doesn't. I think I would be a bad negligent instruction librarian if I didn't.

 So, to this end, I started using Google Docs. I've used them for my own personal projects for a while, but when I started hearing rumors of my colleagues using them in the classroom I was intrigued. Some are having students fill out questionnaires, some use them only to assess the library session, and some use them for group projects. There seems to be a nice array in our library at the moment. And, WHY would one use a Google doc? Google Docs are great because as long as everyone has access to the web and a computer, multiple users can all work on the same document at the same time and everyone can watch those changes almost instantly. 

When my wheels got turning, I decided I wanted to create a spreadsheet that students would have to fill out as I was going through different sections of the instruction session. What I found was a great way to watch the students work and process the information I was dishing IN REAL TIME. Since most of us only get that one-shot, watching the students work and process in the moment, is ridiculously helpful. This allowed me to not only see their thinking, but also to correct or make suggestions in the moment, as well.*

The Google docs I created are for an upper level Writing About Art class. I have 75 minutes with the students in which to explain pretty much EVERYTHING about the library. In 75 minutes they need to understand; reference, using the catalog,  LC call numbers and how to find books on the shelf, how to find articles and use databases, ordering books through our consortium, Interlibrary Loan,  and where to find information about citing. Of course, that would be very difficult to do in 75 minutes, especially for some students that are using the library for the first time. Just the same,  having them actually perform many of the tasks right after I've demonstrated each one, really seems to get them on the right track. I also give out candy for correct responses. What?

So, here is the spreadsheet that the students filled out from the first session. I had about 25 more minutes with this first class than with the second. It seems to show. (The first row of responses with Henry Ossawa Tanner is actually an example I added for the students to model):

When I did the second session, I had a lot less time, but I felt it was more crucial to emphasize searching and the databases. Since we had less time, I skipped a few sections. Here is the spreadsheet from that session:

For a first try, I think it went really well. I was able to politely make suggestions when students got off track and encourage good examples when students seemed to get it.  Of course there wasn't time to get to everyone, AND still move through the broad subject matter that the class required, but as I made suggestions for one student, another student would sometimes make adjustments to their response. And, for those that didn't quite get it,  I have each student's contact information and may go back and make individual suggestions based on what I see in the Google doc.

So, that's it! I would love to hear what you think about what I did, or how you're using Google Docs in some unique way. Send me your feedback!

*I should clarify that I not only mean assessment of how students are processing the information, but that I also included a more traditional sort of assessment at the end of the spreadsheet for the students to respond to how the library session went, as well.