3 Smashing Tools to Create Online PD (Part 2)

In part 1, we looked at Classmill, a free drag-and-drop course builder you can use to develop blended professional development for your teachers and staff.



You can use it to create entirely online classes, or give flipped PD a go and let teachers learn the material beforehand. The goal of flipping is to fill your face-to-face sessions with productive work because everyone comes with the basics already under their belts.

So Classmill is fantastic, except that it's missing a key piece: assessment. To fill that gaping void (take note, makers of Classmill), we'll use Google Forms with Classmill's embed capabilities.

(If you're familiar with Google Forms, you can skip this paragraph.) Google Forms is a free form builder that's a part of the Google Apps suite. It lets you create forms with a variety of questions (multiple choice, text, lists, checkboxes, scales and matrices), share them, then sit back and watch your responses march tidily into a spreadsheet. If you'd like to learn more, check out this Small Bytes playlist on the basics of Google Forms.

Embedding a Form in Classmill

Once you've set up your modules in Classmill (see part 1), you'll want to create a final module named "Assessment." (Or name it "Rhonda." Really, what you call it doesn't matter.) Go to that module and click on "Embed" in the media toolbar at the top. This is where you'll insert your Form once it's finished.

Start your Form with name and email questions, which will play a part in the Autocrat mail merge process that comes later on, then add your assessment items.

Once your Form is complete, click the "Send Form" button in the top right hand corner and select "Embed." Use Ctrl + C to copy the embed code, go back to Classmill, and use Ctrl + V to paste the code into your module. Once that's done, so are you. Your Form is now a part of your course.

Embedding a Form in Classmill

In part 3, we'll explore using Autocrat (a Forms Add-On) to help automate the process of distributing certificates, which your teachers will then, of course, proudly display in gilded mahogany frames next to their teaching credentials in their classrooms.