Forms are popular in schools for assessments, data collection, and a slew of other reasons. Some teachers look no further than Google Forms but for those who require more simplicity and sophistication, a higher degree of agility and rigor, the gold standard for forms is free JotForm (premium edition also available). It works on all platforms and offers professional-looking templates that use a drag-and-drop interface to quickly and intuitively build forms. The completed document can be pushed out via link or embedded into blogs and websites. Here’s my review if you’re looking for more details.

Over the past months, they have come up with many useful tools that simplify remote teaching. The latest is JotForm Smart PDF Forms.

Overview of JotForm Smart PDF Forms

PDFs are a favorite document among teachers. They work across all platforms, easily transfer from home to school, and are considered one of the most secure documents available. The problem comes when you want to make them interactive. In education, that’s a must but filling them out often becomes a complicated, time-consuming process.

Print the PDF (hope the printer has ink)

Find a pen

Find a pen that works

Scan completed document into computer (hope the scanner ap works)

Send

Re-send to working email address

Not so with JotForm’s new Smart PDF Forms. JotForm Smart PDF Forms allow educators to turn traditional PDFs into powerful online forms that are easy for parents and students to fill out from any device, any platform, any browser. Once you (as teacher) receive the completed form, it becomes data that you can sort, evaluate, and then can share the results. Users no longer have to print, fill out, scan back into their digital device, and then send. And you no longer have to input data from forms into a spreadsheet before you’re able to use the information. With so much more being done online these days, this is a product whose time has come.

With JotForm Smart PDF Forms, you can:

• fill out on any device–mobile or desktop
• save responses to either a spreadsheet or in the original PDF form
• ensure information is protected and secure
• have information always available in your online JotForm account

Here’s all you do to create one:

• Upload your original PDF to your JotForm account. JotForm automatically converts it to an online form with interactive fields for users
• Send the form via link or embed to students, teachers, parents, or whoever requires it.
• Collect responses instantly as users fill them in.
• Sort the data any way you need

How does this differ from traditional PDFs? Check out this comparison:

Uses in Education

There are hundreds of uses for this type of smart PDF but in this post, I’ll focus on education. Here are some examples of how teachers are using this intelligent, nimble PDF:

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Every month, subscribers to our newsletter get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching.

September

Mention the ‘September Subscriber Special’ when you purchase and get a free lesson plan!

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Here’s a great list of age-appropriate, safe websites that will inspire 4th graders whether they’re in your classroom or at home (click here for updates on links):

1. Coffee shop--the economics of running a business
2. Everfi.com–finances for K-12
3. Learning Games from BrainPop
4. Virtual weather, machines and surgery–clever, mind-expanding games; some are free, others fee so look for ‘free’ under the ‘games’ tab
5. Grammaropolis–membership required; see if your school has joined; lots of grammar-intensive fun games
6. Samorost—problem solving adventure in outer space; one game free, the rest for a fee
7. Simulations–varied science games; highly popular; they do a good job of explaining complicated science
8. States of Matter Game–a simple Quia game
9. Internet research sites for kids–an age-appropriate list of safe internet research websites for kids
10. Libraryspot.com–another age-appropriate list of safe internet research websites for kids
11. Research—facts–and age-appropriate list of safe internet research websites for kids
12. World Almanac for Kids

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Here’s a preview of what’s coming up on Ask a Tech Teacher in August:

• Tech Tips
• 21 Websites and 5 Posters to Teach Mouse Skills
• 9 Great Websites to Inpsire 2nd Graders
• 9 Websites to Inspire 5th Graders
• Favorite Shortkeys for Special Needs

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.

Here’s a great list of age-appropriate, safe websites that will inspire 1st graders whether they’re in your classroom or at home (check here for updated links):

1. Geography—find messages  around the world
2. Hangman
3. Brown Bear Typing
4. Aesop Fables—no ads
5. Aesop’s Fables–audio and visual
6. Audio stories—read by actors
7. Audio stories—speakaboos
8. Childhood Stories
9. Children’s Stories–MagicKey
10. Classic Fairy Tales
11. Clifford
12. Fairy Tales and Fables
13. Listen/read–Free non-fic audio books
14. Starfall
15. Zoopz

More for 1st graders

1st grade digital tools and websites

21 Websites and 5 Posters to Teach Mouse Skills

Hour of Code Lesson Plans by Grade

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Teacher-authors–do you write fiction? I do! And it feeds my soul in the same way that teaching does.

Two of my novels–To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days–are tech thrillers so fit well into my geeky tech-teacher world. The rest deal with how man survived the traumas of prehistoric times.

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I feature my fiction writing over at WordDreams.

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If you are a teacher who also writes fiction, I’d love to feature your book on WordDreams. I have a good readership with lots of interest in Indie authors. I’m opening up comments so you can add a note there. If you’d prefer, contact me at askatechteacher at gmail dot com.

Talk soon!

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Dr. Bill Morgan is a frequent contributer to Ask a Tech Teacher. Today, he is sharing his experience and research on how keyboarding skills benefit other topics I found this every interesting:

Finger Dexterity

Transferable Keyboarding Skills

Dr. Bill Morgan, Ph.D.

“How do you play the piano as well as you do?” someone in the choir asked me last Sunday. The choir director had apologized as he handed me an arrangement that I had never seen before, saying, “I should have given this to you earlier.” I reassured him, “If you pick ‘em I’ll play ‘em.” I have learned to play not only all of the hymns in the book but most choir arrangements, as well. 

I have since reflected on how I had accompanied school choirs and solo ensemble students from both the band and the choir while I was still attending high school. As I was playing a Beethoven sonata my piano teacher praised the amount of practice that I had put in that week, but the truth was I had only warmed up for an hour before the lesson. While attending a junior college I was paid to accompany a choir while taking the class for credit.

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In these 169 tech-centric situations, you get an overview of pedagogy—the tech topics most important to your teaching—as well as practical strategies to address most classroom tech situations, how to scaffold these to learning, and where they provide the subtext to daily tech-infused education.

Today’s tip: Top 10 iPad Shortkeys

Category: iPads

Here’s a poster with the ten most popular iPad shortkeys found in classrooms:

Sign up for a new tip each week or buy the entire 169 Real-world Ways to Put Tech into Your Classroom.

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Here’s a great list of age-appropriate, safe websites that will inspire kindergarten-age children whether they’re in your classroom or at home (check here for updated links):

1. ‘I love you’ in languages Afrikaans to Zulu
2. Counting Money–a collection of visual money websites for kindergartners
3. Edugames—drag-and-drop puzzles; great for mouse skills
4. Internet4Classrooms–-popular Kindergarten links
5. KinderSite—lots of kindergarten websites
6. Mr. Picasso Head–draw a Picasso potato head
7. Shapes and colors
8. The Learning Planet–worksheets and games; free
9. ZooWhiz--collection of math, reading word skills and literacy games/learning with a zoo theme–requires registration (free and then fee)

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Every month, subscribers to our newsletter get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching.

August

Check out our store on Amazon Ignite. They are having a great sale there. Honestly, I’m not sure when it starts or stops–they aren’t always clear about that–but it’ll be there. And it is Amazon!

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Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.