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Do you want to solicit information from learners? Google Forms is a means to easily create a survey, receive information, and the results can be accessed via email or using your cell phone on the go.

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If you've ever tried to make an online survey before, you've probably used a few web-based tools like SurveyMonkey and SurveyLegend. However, there's another awesome tool out there that we think you should use, and that free tool is Google Forms.

Why use Google Forms? It's an app that is simple to operate, quick to complete, and easy for participants to respond to.

Here are nine advantages of Google Forms, and why you should use it for all your survey-making needs.

1. Create Unlimited Free Forms With Google Templates

Most survey tools will offer you a certain amount of free polling before they start to charge you for the service.

Using a subscription-based service is fine if you're a big company. However, if you're a single person running a small business, or if you're part of a non-profit organization, a monthly price tag can cause an issue.

Fortunately, one of the great advantages of using Google Forms is that Google lets you run as many free polls as you'd like, at least on your personal account. Technically, you could keep on creating new surveys until your Google Drive is full, although we don't recommend doing this: we just think there are better ways to utilize your Drive.

To save you time, Google Forms also offers a wide variety of templates that you can choose from to create a poll that is specific to your needs.

If you love collaborating on documents and spreadsheets, then one of the benefits of Google Forms is that Google's collaborative capabilities are available through this app, too. You can share a form---along with the results of that form in a spreadsheet---with as many people as you'd like.

When you click on Add collaborators for your form, all collaborators that you add can view it. Give any other team member the permission to edit, and also see the edits that others have made.

Google's document-sharing capabilities have been the best on the market for a while, and they continue to dominate in this program, as well.

3. The Importance of Google Forms Logic Threading

Logic threading is the ability to change a survey based upon the previous answers that the participant has given.

It's an incredibly useful one to use. In Google Forms, follow these steps:

1. Click on the three dots in the bottom right-hand corner of a question.

2. After that, click on the Go to section based on answer.

Logic threading allows you to avoid the clunky wording of multiple questions. It also ensures that participants are only exposed to the relevant data that they need. For instance, if the first question on a survey asks you if you're a Mac or Windows user, the following questions can be based upon Mac or Windows machines.

With other survey tools, logic threading is sometimes a feature that you have to pay for. On Google Forms, however, it's free.

4. Get Email Notifications for Google Forms Results

Some of the survey making tools that you find online will only let you see the results of that survey by revisiting the app's website. This situation can be less than ideal depending upon which sort of device you're viewing the website on.

Fortunately, one of Google Forms' advantages is the ability to get notifications and responses to your form directly via email.

To get responses in your email inbox:

1. Click on the Responses tab at the top of your Google Form.

2. Tap on the three dots on the right-hand side of the toolbar, next to the icon of a Google spreadsheet.

3. Choose Get email notifications for new responses from the dropdown menu.

5. Google Forms Is Mobile-Friendly

Not all web pages are created equally. Not all survey making tools work great on a mobile browser, either.

Google Forms does.

One vital Google Forms usage is its cross-platform compatibility, ranging from desktop browsers to smartphones. Each template design is responsive, which means that checkboxes, multiple-choice questionnaires, and text fields are easy to use by the participants, no matter which device they use it on.

That mobile-friendly quality is a huge advantage, as a vast percentage of the world's web traffic filters through smartphones. By having that responsive interface, Google Forms can potentially result in a higher-than-expected response rate.

Again, there are fewer barriers to participate for everyone in a survey.

6. The Importance of Google Form Customization

With other online survey tools, you often have to pay a little bit extra to customize your polls, especially if you want those polls to match the branding of your company. Not so with Google Forms.

With the ability to change the look and feel of a survey to your company's branding, Google Forms allows you to adjust the colors in each of its pre-made templates, add images to the headers of those templates, and change the font style.

The idea behind this? You want to convey to the participants of the survey that the survey is part of a unified product: that time and effort were put into the questions being asked.

If you want a more concrete idea on where this customization aspect comes in handy, here's how to create a free website contact form with Google Forms.

7. Google Forms Can Help Teachers and Students

One of the unexpected benefits of Google Forms is that it can help you in the education sector, especially if you're a teacher.

As a component of G Suite for Education, Google Forms is an economical way for educators to collect data and help them stay organized.

Through Google Forms, you can:

View a student's work to track their progress.

Track class attendance.

Use Google Forms for grading.

Use Google Forms to quiz students on a subject.

8. Use Google Forms for Your Business

On top of being a great tool for educators, Google Forms is a fantastic tool for work. If you've got G Suite for Business, and you're running a simple online shop, you can use Google Forms to gain customer feedback or fill out order forms.

If you have employees, Google Forms can also be used to fill out "time off" requests.

9. Create a Survey With Google Forms Quickly

Lastly, one of the biggest advantages of Google Forms is that it allows you to create polls, forms, and surveys quickly.

There are no complicated bells or whistles that you need to know in order to learn how to use the app; no price point or insider knowledge that makes the tool inaccessible for the average user.

If you want to create a survey in ten minutes or less, then there is no easier way to do it than with Google Forms. Just open the app, pick your template, type your questions in, and go.

This makes it well-suited for casual users when it comes to creating online documents.

Use Google Forms to Create an Awesome Survey

Now, you may wonder if there are any disadvantages of Google Forms. The short answer is "no." Unless you have a special attachment to another survey-making tool, or you're anti-Google, Google Forms is the best way to go considering that you don't have to pay anything.

Looking for other things you can do with this app? Here are some advanced Google Forms tips and tricks you should try out.

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If you've ever tried to make an online survey before, you've probably used a few web-based tools like SurveyMonkey and SurveyLegend. However, there's another awesome tool out there that we think you should use, and that free tool is Google Forms. Why use Google Forms? It's an app that is simple to operate, quick to complete, and easy for participants to respond to.

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I was introduced to Powtoon during my LSU graduate coursework. It allows the instructor to teach appealing, concise videos that not only grab, but keep the attention of the student.

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I recently read a study on creativity that blew my mind:

"A major factor in creativity is education: not whether you had a 'good' or 'expensive' or 'public' education, but whether you were encouraged to develop your creativity starting at an early age and continuing throughout your school years." - Adobe

Powtoon in Your Classroom - Creativity & Education

We saw this first-hand, when Edson Tellez, a volunteer teacher in rural Mexico, wrote to us about how Powtoon changed the way his students viewed the world. " They're getting more creative, more receptive, and more dynamic in each class."

The mind blowing fact is that developing creativity is the primary determining factor in the overall success of your students! And there are 2 factors that contribute to that development:

1 - Students must have a platform to be creative with (physical materials, online programs, a stage etc...)

2- Direction - Even if you teach in the most affluent school, with the most expensive technology; your students are still only as good as the direction given to them. They are only as good as the challenges you present, the projects you assign and the creativity you encourage.

And Powtoon wants to help you ignite this creativity!

When Technology Meets Creativity

We are standing at an incredible moment in time, at the intersection between technology and creativity... And this is why we at Powtoon have dedicated ourselves to creating the most exciting, engaging, out-of-this-world templates for school!

Each template is a compact lesson plan that provides the starting point for infinite creativity. The real beauty behind these templates is that they serve as a platform for imagination; Students can edit characters, images, animations, text, live footage and even upload their own voiceover, videos and music!

11 Quick & Amazing Ways to Use Powtoon in Your Classroom (plus 8 bonus ideas) including real examples from teachers & students!

1. Red Carpet Intros: Introduce yourself in the most glamorous and unique way possible!

Then have your students do the same, with this Student Resume Template!

2. Mission Impossible Template - Spy music and cyber security transform any assignment into a secret mission (where your students are the heroes)

Check out this example: Mr. Thomas and his Mission Impossible Homework Assignment.

3. Five Facts Template - Get your class focused with a checklist or countdown (the most popular template for learning new topics)

A more advanced template for middle school students:

And for those students who "know it all" - they can share their wisdom in this "5 Pieces of Advice" template!

4. School Rules Template - Lay down your classroom rules in an unforgettable way!

Ms. Soriano shows us how it's done!

5. Show Them How - Students become the educators and create how-to videos to explain topics or summarize large assignments!

One student named Mayank, converted this CEO Resume Template into a presentation about the immune system (by simply switching text and images)!

These Students imagined a very different way to learn botany!

6. Book Report Template - Typing up a book report is lame, becoming a storyteller and movie producer is epic!!

Or if you prefer the traditional feel of pencil and paper, here's another option:

7. Blue Sky Template; The Maker Space Template- Use this template as a starting point to help students lay out their goals for future projects (and Powtoons)! This is where DIY Meets Education.

8. School Syllabus Template - Ease tensions and peak interest by introducing your course syllabus in animation (the non-threatening medium 😉

9. Class Goals Template - Design Thinking! The Human centered design process to help your students "Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test."

10. Special Events Templates - Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, winter holidays, birthdays, Valentine's Day and so much more!

11. Year in Review - Celebrate accomplishments, milestones and... graduation!

BONUS TIME! 8 More Lesson Ideas

After receiving Helpful feedback from teachers and educators, we at the Powtoon Edu headquarters are excited to present 8 more ways to use Powtoon in the Classroom:

12. Timeline Template - Move back in time to highlight historical events and move forward to share modern research and visions of the future!

13. Science fair - Summarize your results (all that data and statistics) in an easy-to-interpret infographic Powtoon

14. Six Word Story - Do more with less. Limit the amount of words and watch visual creativity explode!

15. Integrate familiar technologies with animation. Transform Your Powerpoint into an awesome video! How? Simply use an existing PPTX presentation (or save your Google Slides presentations as a PPTX) then click on the Import to Powtoon feature, Voila! You now have a video that's ready to be awesomized with live footage, funny characters and wowzer effects!

16. Meet John Template -
Storytelling time with Pixar Pitch; Use John to teach the art of the narrative structure with familiar Pixar movie elements.

17. Snap and Shoot Powtoon - Don't fight the cell phone integrate it! Record and shoot face to camera Powtoons with the Powtoon Connect App! Download at the App Store for ios users, or at Google Play for android users.

18. Evidence of Learning Video Project - Gather Powtoons as Evidence of student learning. Both you and your students will be excited to show off their "evidence."

19. Collaborate with colleagues- Join forces, brainstorm and help your colleagues come up with great ideas to optimize teaching and learning! Check out this team challenge about Data-Driven PLC, made a whole lot digestible with this "Meet Jane" template.

Powtoon in Your Classroom - Try it now!

There you have it! The best way to encourage and develop creativity in this technological age is with these outrageous pre-made templates and Powtoon lesson ideas. I've shared 11 quick and amazing ways to use Powtoon in your classroom right now, but there are an infinite number of ways to use Powtoon to spark your students' creativity!

How have you used technology to spark creativity in the classroom? I'd love to hear about examples in the comments below!
This post has been edited and updated for clarity.
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11 Quick & Amazing Ways to Use PowToon in Your Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I recently read a study on creativity that blew my mind: "A major factor in creativity is education: not whether you had a 'good' or 'expensive' or 'public' education, but whether you were encouraged to develop your creativity starting at an early age and continuing throughout your school years."