Google Forms and Automatic Responses

Say you have a Google Form.  And say you want someone (you, him, her, someone else) to get an email with the submissions automatically when the form is submitted.  Would that be nice?  To me it would.  And fortunately, it can be done!  Here is one way to do it.

1.  Create your form like always.  Make sure to add a field for an email address if you want to send an automatic reply to the submitter.

2.  Go to your docs and open the spreadsheet of the form.

3. Open another window or tab in your web browser and go to http://sites.google.com/site/formemailer/updates for the Google Script for Form eMailer by Henrique Abreu.  Open the newest .js file (version 3.5 as of this post) and copy all the text.  Or you can download and copy the text from the version here. 

4.  Back to the spreadsheet, open up the Script editor... under the Tools menu.

 5.  Click on Untitled Project at the top of the page and rename it Form eMailer.  Click OK.

6.   Erase all the text in the code body and paste in the text you copied in step #3.  Click the Save button.

 7.  Click on the myFunction drop-down, choose onInstall, and click on the Run button (looks like a play button).  You will be asked to autorize the use of the script.  Click Authorize.

8.  Click on the myFunction drop-down again and choose install and then click the run button again.

9.  If you are still in the Scipts editor, go to Triggers > Current script's triggers...

10.  Add two new triggers as follows and save it.

11. Return to the spreadsheet. You should see a new worksheet titled FormEmailer and new menu titled the same. (Note that the running automatically cell may read "no" for a little bit.  It will turn to a "yes" once processed fully.

 12. Now, go to the FormEmailer menu at the top of the page and click Settings.  You will see an email editor.  Here is where you will create the email that will be automatically sent when someone submits a form.

• Use the Insert placeholder link to have the information submitted in that field in the spreadsheet (from the form) inserted into the email (either in the To: line, Sender name: line, or Subject: line).
• Type your email like you would want the submitter to see it once received.  
• Use basic HTML code to make text bold <b>, text go to the next line (line break) <br>, or skip a line (paragraph break) <p>. 

13.  Save and Close and you are ready to send out via email or post online!

Some ideas for use:

• Principals love this tool for observing teachers and sending them instant observation data.
• I love to use this tool to confirm that I received a form submission in regards to the Technology Challenge, the DPS Technology Showcase, and workshop evaluations.

How could you use it?

Tools for Parent Communication

Twitter for Parent Communication

(Keep Your Parents Updated Quickly, Easily)

Whenever I talk to people about Twitter, I usually get one of three reactions:

1. They love it
2. They think it's a waste of time
3. They have heard of it but really don't have a clear idea of what it is

If you fall into the third group, watch this short video for an explanation.

If you understand what Twitter is, you may still be skeptical on how it could ever be helpful to teachers and schools. 


Check out the Twitter feed I have embedded in the left-side of this web site.  It has very short messages.  The nice thing is that I do not have to edit my site in order to update it.  I can send a Tweet via my cell phone in a matter of seconds from anywhere at anytime.


Best Practices for Using Twitter for School Communication

1. Create an entirely new Twitter profile if you have a personal one in order to generate your school/class tweets.  Keep your online professional and personal "worlds" separate.
2. Combine your technology. Embed your Twitter feed into your school web site.  
3. Keep the account login information secure so updates are done by trusted personnel.  
4. Use Twitter to communicate with parents, not students. 
• DPS Board Policy 5150 states the following:Employees may not use personal web sites or online networking profiles to post information in an attempt to communicate with students in their roles as school system employees.
• Facebook and Twitter are blocked for students by the District's Web filter to adhere to CIPA regulations, but are accessible by staff.
5. Keep your tweets up to date, but don't flood your followers with too many.  

So, how can you utilize Twitter to communicate with your community? Visit the Google Doc wiki below to view a few ideas and add your own ideas, benefits, and concerns.

http://goo.gl/hU3YO

Google Docs for Staff Collaboration

(Using Google Docs for Staff Collaboration)

Google Docs is an online suite of office programs.  The Docs suite contains MS Office-like document, spreadsheet, and presentation programs.  It also contains survey and drawing programs.


The benefits of the suite being online is that they can all be accessed from any computer, anywhere in the world that has Internet access, AND they can be shared to enable collaboration.

Forms
Forms are Google survey tool.  They are quick and easy to create and allow you all types of information.  

1. From your Google Docs homepage, click "Create New" and choose "Form"

2. Type your questions

3. Link to the form's web address from your web site, embed it into your web site, or send it in an email.  The address can be found at the bottom of the "Edit Form" page.
4. Answers are submitted to a Google spreadsheet, which is in your Docs list.

Here is an example.

Presentations
Google presentation is just like PowerPoint, just online.  Here is an example of today's PowerPoint embedded.


Documents
Google document application functions like MS Word, just online.  Because it is online you can share it with one person or the whole world!

Check out this example and contribute your thoughts!

http://goo.gl/hU3YO