Sharing My #DocAppender Workflow

Friday, May 15, 201511:00 AM

At this year's NJ #Gafesummit, I learned about DocAppender and was blown away. I instantly saw its potential for peer reflection and portfolio work, and set out to master it the next week. This post is an updated version of the workflow I tweeted out that week. Last week, I received the mention below, which sparked this new entry.


So far, I’ve used it successfully for students to provide peer feedback and for reflections for an SAT multiple choice portfolio. It’s by far the easiest workflow with as few clicks as possible to do this. Here’s a quick guide to what I did:


Here’s what you need to do:
  1. Create a Template Folder. Create a blank template for your students and make everyone a copy. Basically, you need a template folder you have access to. Doctopus does this but I much prefer Google Classroom. I make the assignment with a copy of a blank doc for each student. I then ask Ss to open the blank doc, creating it, and I suddenly have my template gallery with sharing rights and folders already set up through Classroom. Ss will be able to track and turn in the work on Classroom, which means accountability for all and nothing extra for me.


  1. Create Form. Create the form; the answers will be appended to the blank docs you created above.


  1. Install DocAppender. It’s an add-on for forms with really simple directions. They key is to have the template folder already created. DocAppender will basically ingest the file names in this folder into a multiple choice question that you create. When Ss complete the form, the results are automatically copies to the Docs on Form Submit. I prefer the vertical table option you will find in the set up.


SAMPLE & RESULTS: PEER FEEDBACK
I used this add-on with the form below to have Ss provide specific feedback about a project.
With the checkbox option, one student can provide automated feedback to a group of students!


Every student will review four peers, so that all students have a few different sets of form results.


Here is how the appended results look:


The feedback itself is a work in progress, but the workflow is great. Then, Ss will already have their work organized through Classroom with a record of the feedback. They can Turn it in afterwards to share with me, or I can view the work in progress since I made and own the templates. I don't need to share or e-mail ANYTHING--DocAppender does it all. You could do a similar organization with Doctopus but Classroom worked great for me.


PORTFOLIO REFLECTIONS
I also have Ss reflect on work in a portfolio. I want to use DocAppender to log their reflections and revisions. Ss will select their own name on the form and reflect. Results will be appended to the Doc after each submission, creating a running log of progress throughout the year.


I haven’t fully tried this yet, but heres’ my form: Multiple Choice Portfolio. Each time they submit, I can review their results and have Ss turn in at the end of each quarter.

If anyone has any ideas to make it better, let me know!

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4 comments

  1. I love your ideas and am toying around with using it for my students quick writes. I use Google Classroom (and Doctopus and Goobric with it) and am wondering about a few things: Do students understand the directions? I feel like my 8th graders would have their minds blown! Me: Do not write on the doc. Do not write on the doc.Do not write on the doc. Please open the doc and then close it. Use the form linked below to input your answers. Trust me.

    It's late so it's possible that I'm just not quite grasping the steps--your ideas are the closest to what I want to do. Any tips would be appreciated.

    Thanks!

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  2. Thanks for reading and for the comments!

    I think it's a fair concern but that with careful directions and modelling, they will be just fine. I always walk them through this in class, watching them open the docs on the Smart Board. While the Google Classroom workflow is pretty straightforward for the students, we often explore other strategies for sharing and collaboration, so my kids are used to switching things up.

    Think of opening the doc as one assignment--once it's open, mark as done. Then the form can be its own separate entity. With clear directions and scaffolding, the results will pay off despite the complexity.

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  3. I love the way that you have your reflection set up. I am going to model mine after yours. I do have a question--I need to create a weekly recording sheet that students would access daily for their reading amounts. So on Monday, they record the title of what they are reading, the page number that they are on. On Tuesday, they record title (which is usually the same unless they are done or abandoning the book) and the page number. At the end of the week, I'd like to have total pages calculated. I am absolutely positive that Google Forms can do this for me. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to create this! Do you have any suggestions? Thanks so much!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! The key here is using Google Sheet, too. You're right that you can't tally the total in docs, but you sure can in Sheets. You would need something like a SUMIF function. For example, if the student column = Adam, then calculate the sum. I would explore https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3093583?hl=en to learn more about this function.

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