Using Google forms for online assignments in chemistry education

Israel’s Ministry of Education had encouraged teachers to incorporate online materials into their teaching, to provide students with a more meaningful and up-to date learning experience. As of the summer of 2018, it became particularly important for high school chemistry students to practice assignments online since some of the national matriculation examinations are currently offered online. The research goal was to identify pre- and in-service chemistry teachers` perceptions about the use of online assignments, developed on Google form platform. The research included three phases, each involving a different group of chemistry teachers. During the first phase, a group of ten experts participated in a series of five sessions of workshop aimed at validating the content of chemistry online assignments, as well as anticipating and resolving challenges that they and their colleagues might face while implementing these assignments in their classes. During the second phase, 24 pre-service chemistry teachers who study at the Faculty of Education in Science and Technology at the Technion, were asked to develop online assignments on a platform of Google forms. During the third phase, 30 in-service chemistry teachers participated in a 30-hour summer workshop that exposed them to a variety of Google form assignments in chemistry. These teachers were also asked to develop new assignments to be implemented in their classrooms. The participants` perceptions were examined through pre- and post-questionnaires and interviews. Content analysis of participants` perceptions revealed a consent of the advantages of using online chemistry assignments via google forms platform. The main advantages that the teachers identified were the integration of animations, simulations, and short videos in the assignments and the ability of the teachers to discuss students` answers by using the statistics of the forms and a summary, which is an integral part of the platform.