Using Scripts with Google Drive to Track Student/Teacher Progress

I've been at a conference for the last couple of days and had an opportunity to share some of the great things we are doing at Canadian Valley Technology Center, specifically in using scripts to create calendar events (like a bus request), automated progress reports, professional development transcripts, and teacher evaluations (coming soon).

Background:

The first script I ever used was one which would send the results of a form to someone other than the person submitting it. I found it online, changed the email address, and made it work. That looks pretty simple now, but it started me on a journey which has led me to my current place in learning programming.

Gist:

We have started using scripts (which are bound to Google spreadsheets, calendar, forms, etc.) to take the results of a form (set up as a way for instructors to enter their professional development for the semester), create a copy of a template, replace all information in <<>> with information from the form, move it into a shared folder (one shared with the teacher's supervisor), share the document with the teacher (view rights only), and email a link to the document to the teacher. 

This was the first project we used to integrate the automation power of Google Scripts. We have since created an automated transportation request (auto-creates) an event on the bus/van/etc. calendar. We have also moved to a Google Sheets gradebook (from an Excel template), with automated progress reports. 

We are on about the 4th iteration of each of these as it has been a somewhat large learning curve for someone like me who had zero programming experience. I have done about 1/2 of the codecademy.com Javascript course which has enabled me to begin to conceptually understand Scripts within Google. 

But it takes so long!

Like every other kind of technology I have ever used in the classroom, yes, it takes a lot of time. However, all of the time you invest on the front side (development) you will get back probably two-fold on the backside. Time spent doing paperwork is reduced to nearly nothing. I remember the first school I worked at had a person who taught part time and the other part of her job was tracking professional development. This first script would have eliminated that entire part of her job. Not that I am in favor of people losing their jobs, but maybe that person could focus more on instruction? Or remediation? 

Next Steps:

If you are a Google District and you have someone who is willing to learn or already knows Javascript, I would highly recommend giving someone the autonomy to begin integrating something like this. There are scripts already written which people will/can share (I'm glad to share any I have done) and if you need help, some great resources are the Scripts documentation and stackoverflow.com. I do a lot of searching for help. 

If you would like to connect more about this topic, I'm happy to do so. You can connect through about.me/jbowie. If I can help you with anything, please let me know!

I love my job

While I try to remain positive in the face of negative circumstances, it sure is a lot easier to keep a positive outlook when you love coming to work each day.

I was thinking about my job this morning when I came in this morning and I thought I'd make a list of the things I enjoy about this job versus other I have had.

Here are my thoughts, in no particular order:

1. I feel fairly confident that this job will be a long-term gig. There is certainly a need for this position and the administration recognizes that need. 
2. It is fun. The people I work with enjoy having fun and we all have a pretty good rapport with one another. 
3. I am challenged. I have had the opportunity to try some new things. I'm getting a basic understanding of Javascript and I have formed a niche which will (hopefully) help keep me as a valuable resource to the campus.
4. I feel valued. I regularly get positive feedback from the administrators and faculty on the projects on which I am currently working.
5. I can see some change in methods being used by the faculty. The faculty I have been working with are implementing the suggestions I have given them. They like the changes and the students are responding positively, as well. 

Onward with Google Scripts

As I continue to work toward a useable gradebook in Google Sheets, I am tweaking the scripts along with it. One of the things I want this gradebook to do is to create progress reports or report cards based on 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th 9 weeks, with no coding from me. To facilitate that, I have created global variables for the entire cumulative gradebook sheet. Here is an example of the code for those global variables.

The numbers correspond to column numbers in the spreadsheet. For the global variables, there are about 125 lines of code. This includes the templates for the progress reports, i.e. 1st, 2nd, etc.

My favorite part of this script is the Custom Menu. I have created a function for each of the nine weeks progress reports. Then in the menu, I have submenus which allow you to run each of the functions (separate scripts). Here's what the menu looks like:

The customizability of this function means that as a coder (VERY novice), you can create functions in Google Docs which will allow "non-techie" users to feel comfortable using them. This gets me excited! As long as I am comfortable creating (or stealing) code for some function, I can do pretty much anything I want in Google Docs.

Starting a New Job

It's been nearly a year since I've written and much has changed in the last year.

I left SNU in July of this year to take a job at Canadian Valley Technology Center. I'm still doing instructional design, but much of what I do revolves around face to face technology integration in the classroom. We don't offer any sort of online courses, so things are a bit different than they used to be.

I'm enjoying it here so far and I've gotten to learn many new things. One of those is coding. I've been working on Javascript for the last month or so, mostly so we can streamline our work flow through Google Drive. It's a lot of fun. It involves a lot of troubleshooting, especially when you are as new at it as I am. Basically, I'm learning a new language. At least it's written in English!

The only other thing I'll mention is something I just did today. I registered a domain (oklahomaspeedshop.com) and I hope to start designing a few tshirts and selling them there. I plan to design using cars and bikes from the 40s, 50s and 60s, done in the advertising style of those decades.

I've still got a lot to learn before I can create anything, but I do love to learn new things!