Google Forms as Learning Frameworks - HyperDocs and More

I've long been a huge fan of Google forms for exit slips, surveys, and formative assessments. For me, it is one of the easiest tools to efficiently engage my students in reflective learning and assessments. I've even dabbled with using Google forms as learning pathways. Similar to Google Docs and Slides as HyperDocs, Google Forms can be used for student-paced activities and lessons. 

A great feature of Google Forms is the ability to direct learners to different sections of the form based on their answers to specific multiple-choice questions. This is a great way to support differentiated learning experiences. Students can be directed to additional information, video, a website or other digital resources based on the answer they choose.

I've also recently seen some posts connected to using forms to create Choose Your Own Adventure Stories. I've used Google Slides for Choose Your Own Adventure Stories, but I like also the idea of doing this with forms.  

Students can even create their own branching forms. This has some great connections to critical thinking and computational thinking.

If you want to see this in action, I've put together a quick HyperDoc connected to Copyright and Fair Use. This is not perfect, but I think it is a good starting point to demonstrate how powerful branching in Google Forms can be. 

Copyright and Fair Use Formative HyperDoc

Still curious about using this with students?

This is not a new idea, and I owe my exploration to some incredible educators. Several years ago Tom Mullaney wrote a great post about an "Impossible to Fail" Google Quiz. Alice Keeler also has a post about these types of branching forms, "Creating a Branching Quiz". I highly recommend both of these posts if you are looking to learn more about branching in Google Forms.

Explore the Process

Here is a quick peek behind the curtain to see how this is done. Alice's and Tom's posts go into a bit more detail if you are interested in creating your own. 

The first step is to plan the sections you will need for each question. I will do this on paper or in a Google Doc before I even start to create the form. 

Section 1 is the first multiple-choice question. The correct choice leads to section 3 and the incorrect choices all lead to section 2 that includes a video about copyright protection. Each wrong answer could also be set to a different section based on the response. 

Section 2 is the check for understanding section that contains a video for students to review if they choose any of the incorrect responses.  You don't need the "yes, no question", but I like this having this so students recognize that they should watch the video before moving on. When the student answers yes, they are brought back to section 1 to try the question again. Note: I have not figured out a way to force the student to watch the video, so they could just keep going back to the question until they guess right.  

Section 3 is reached when the correct answer is chosen and the student can then move to the next question.

The process then repeats for each question. As you can probably guess, this takes some time to set up, but once you create one you can easily copy the form as a template for new branching quizzes. I recommend starting small with only a few questions if you are exploring this as a resource with your students. 

What do you think? How could you use this with your students? Please share in the comments below.

Additional Remote Learning Resources

• Remote Learning Doesn't Just Have to be About Consumption of Content
• Learning Doesn't Need to Stop if School is Closed - It Really Doesn't!
• HyperDocs for eLearning
• Tips to Use Google Applied Digital Skills for Remote Learning
• Video and Audio Resources for eLearning Experiences
• Newsela for Remote Learning Engagement - Readings With Built-in Assessments