Googling it the Google Way - Exploring the power of tiny species called Addons!

Googling it the Google Way - Exploring the power of tiny species called Addons!
Date: 15th Feb 2018/Thursday 

This blog post is inspired by the amazing functionality of the tiny species called Addons[1]. Add-ons are basically programs that enhance the existing functionality of the Google Suite Core Services like Sheets, Docs and Forms. These are created by third party developers , using Google App Script which is based on JavaScript. The best part is you do not need to know with coding language to work with addons, you can use them as easily as you could imagine.

Google basically has divided the add-on into three sets , namely add-ons for Sheets,Forms and Docs. these are use for multiple purposes, for example add-on in docs could be used for creating forms (using the DOC to Form add-on), shortening URLs, creating citations and bibliographies, add-on in sheets[2] could be used for mail merge, grading quizzes, sharing documents etc) and in forms to create quizzes. Which actually makes the work of the teachers, administrators, trainers etc very easy. There are times when the same document has to be shared with students, instead of emailing these can be shared in documents in drive, certificates, reports can be created in docs, this doc template could be populated from data in spreadsheets. Grading the assignments becomes a challenge for teachers for all students, its a time consuming job.

Add-ons like superquiz and flubaroo makes it all efficient and effective. Let’s begin exploring some of these Add-ons, how and where do you find these tiny creatures. You need to first open sheets in your browser, click on the Add-ons menu and click on get Add-ons. Search for the required add-on and click on free, it asks for permissions, click allow and it installs it automatically. All Add-ons installed are visible in the add-on menu. In order to remove the add-on, click on manage and remove the add on.

One of the Add-ons that I find very interesting is the Autocrat add-on. This can be used to create personalized documents using data from spreadsheets. It lets you take data from spreadsheets and merge with docs. These can be saved in drive and shared with concerned through emails.

Flubaroo can be used for grading multiple questions, assignments followed by graphs and charts representing the scores. You can also share scores and grades with your students through drive or email.

Superquiz[3] is another interesting add-on. It lets you grade the quizzes made in Forms. It gives teacher the facility to fill in some cells can lead you to give personalized feedback to students, provides an overview of students who have performed well and vice versa, give a question wise breakdown etc. Basically lets you analyze the performance of the class on an assessment.

Another interesting add-on is the formule[4] add-on, which takes data from spreadsheet, and uses text place holders to merge data in an email. It can let you choose from a variety of email templates. One could make 15 different email templates and send them using various configure conditions. You could also choose to send emails as soon as the form is submitted or set timers. Overall it makes an administrative task much easier.

Another useful add-on is the doc to form[5] add-on. You can easily make forms from text in a document. You could type in questions in the document, run the add-on from the menu, copy and paste the questions and the answer key, and click create form. You have the option to choose from a variety of question types too. You form is automatically created in minutes.

One last add-on that I want to share is the URL Shortner[6]. This could be very useful for teachers and students alike. It’s often difficult to remember or type the long websites address in a document. The URL shortner add-on lets you select the URL and replaces it with a shortened URL in seconds.

Now it’s your turn to explore these tiny species which have the amazing functionality. Try out these and you will end up with lots of useful ideas in our classrooms.

Enjoy Reading.

Sheeba Ajmal


References

1. Develop Add-ons for Google Sheets, Docs, Slides, and Forms | Apps ...." 27 Sep. 2017, https://developers.google.com/apps-script/add-ons/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2018.

2. 50 Google Sheets Add-Ons to Supercharge Your Spreadsheets - The ...." 1 Jun. 2016, https://zapier.com/learn/google-sheets/best-google-sheets-addons/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2018.

3. Super Quiz - Google Sheets add-on - Chrome." 23 Apr. 2015, https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/super-quiz/pjbiflobnndcecpflbbldjhiplcobiim?hl=en. Accessed 15 Feb. 2018.

4. formMule - Email Merge Utility - Google Sheets add-on - Chrome." 25 Jan. 2017, https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/formmule-email-merge util/kabhamaiihmaphgpijdolgcihofefajn?hl=en. Accessed 15 Feb. 2018.

5. Doc To Form – Google Docs add-on - Chrome." 26 Mar. 2015, https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/doc-to-form/paadgjaehgkbopbjfaomaophiphlmalh?hl=en-GB.  Accessed 15 Feb. 2018.

6.Google URL Shortener - Chrome Web Store." https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-url-shortener/bmnjjjinhhbgfapfngmpekkbhefjfblj?hl=en.  Accessed 15 Feb. 2018.



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