There are many hidden gems within Microsoft EDU, and Microsoft Forms is one of them! Microsoft Forms was released in 2016 and since then, there have been may updates and features released that take it beyond simple question and answering.
Assessment is an important part of any classroom, even an InterACTIVE classroom, but it is imperative that when we do assess students we are using it to bridge the gap between our teaching and learning. We should not simply give and grade an assessment, but rather use it to gather, evaluate, and remediate the gaps between knowledge rendered and knowledge retained.
6 Features of Microsoft Forms
1. Uploading Files to a Microsoft Form
The ability to upload a file created outside of Microsoft Forms is one of our favorite, interACTIVE features. Students need the chance to demonstrate their understanding of a concept through creation, and this powerful feature allows students to create in programs such as Adobe Spark, Flipgrid, Microsoft PowerPoint, iMovie, and then share with the teacher through Forms.
*This feature is only available to users within the same organization.
2. Types of Questions
When creating a Form, you have several types of questions you can use to build it. Choose from these options to customize your Forms in ways that specifically meet the needs of the students you have in your classroom.
Multiple choice: When using this feature, Forms will even suggest possible answers based on the words used in the question or answer choices already submitted.
Text: Giving students the ability to write and explain their thinking is always good and in Forms, you can specify whether it’s going to be a long answer or a brief one.
Rating: You can specify both levels (numeric) and symbols (stars) when using this option. This is great for a book review or character rating after the end of a unit.
Ranking: This type of question is great when asking students to debate or justify an answer. For example, have students rank details in order of importance in regards to the theme of a story. Then, pair with a text question and have them explain their rankings and justify the order they chose.
Branching: Although this isn’t technically one of the types” of questions you can use, it is a great, interACTIVE feature in Forms that allows you to connect, or branch, questions based on a students answer. This allows you to redirect students to different questions based on correct or incorrect answers.
Net Promoter Score: Great for more survey-like type questions or can be used when looking for students’ opinion in regards to a topic.
3. Custom Controls
There are many hidden features in Forms that you may not know about at first glance. Simply head to the Settings in the Three Dot Menu and take advantage of features like shuffling question order, adding a start and end date, creating custom Thank You messages and adding email notification.
4. Peer Collaboration
Creating interACTIVE Forms can often be a two-person job or more, and for that, Microsoft Forms has given creators the ability to collaborate. To share a form with your friend or colleague, simply tap on the Share button in the top right corner of the screen and select the Share option from the right menu.
5. Ability to Analyze Responses
As with any assessment in an InterACTIVE Class, giving the assessment is just the beginning. Once students have finished, you need to review and reflect on the data given. When using Microsoft Forms, you simply head to the Responses tab and you will find the answers to your assessment in both a visual group format and individually.
6. Immersive Reader
The integration of Microsoft’s Immersive reader makes Forms so accessible to all students. Immersive Reader is a free tool that utilizes techniques proven to help people read more effectively, such as read aloud and translation. This feature allows questions and answer choices to be read aloud to students while working to help accommodate and give independence.
Additional Features and Resources for Microsoft Forms
There are so many other features that make Microsoft Forms a great tool to use in the classroom. Sharing with colleagues, the ability to send a copy, sharing with links an QR codes, customizing the themes and colors—this tool is one you will want to get to know before the next school year.
Interested in Microsoft Forms? Here are a few examples you can look at for more ideas.
For more interACTIVE ideas to use when integrating technology into the classroom, check out our book, The InterACTIVE Class.
