Recently, I had the opportunity to work with the marketing teacher in school, Mrs. Wilczewski, where we wanted to help students analyze their data collection. In groups, students were asked to research a particular restaurant that could be opened in town. Students organized focus groups to gather some information. Additionally, each group created a Google Form to gather feedback through survey questions. Students were then asked to create a presentation about their findings for a new restaurant in town.
In talking more with Mrs. Wilczewski, we decided to curate all of the data from each of the 15 different restaurant groups and pull them into a Looker Studio (formerly known as Google Data Studio). To take a look at the Looker Studio, click HERE. A quick sample of what three of the pages look like can be seen below without launching the Looker Studio. NOTE: It is important to note that no PII is included with this Looker Studio. There is absolutely no student information being shared.
Why Looker Studio?
We had the conversation with students that Google Form is an excellent tool for collecting data. It is great for pulling all the data into one place – a spreadsheet. It is great for when you want a quick snap shot of the data in graph or chart form, through the responses tab. We even highlighted the fact that Google Forms now makes it easy to copy a chart or graph and paste into a Google Document or Google Slide, as seen below. This can be very helpful when needing quick visualization of data that has been collected.
Looker Studio helps take the data to the next level, in a visualized format. We demonstrated how students were able dive deeper into their data. For example, if we were to take a look at the first question on the R1 Mac and Cheese Restaurant, “How much money would you spend on a medium size bowl of mac and cheese?”, 34 people indicated that they would spend between $6 and $10. Once that is selected, you will notice that all other graphs on the page also change. This is because we are now looking at data that connects with those 34 submissions, not the total number of submissions. This is what the response tab is missing with Google Forms. I am not able to interact with any of the charts/graphs that are automatically created.
Students in each group were able to take a look at their own data on their own tab of the Looker Studio. Students also had the ability to see what other groups discovered and collected, especially if another class was exploring a similar style restaurant. (All three marketing classes feed into one Looker Studio).
What was the workflow?
- Students got into groups and explored restaurant style
- Group created their Google Form with ten questions to ask
- Group asked others to complete their survey questions
- Looker Studio was created for the students
We didn’t want to spend the time in class going over how to create a Looker Studio, as in this instance, we are more concerned with helping students dive deep into making observations with their data. We didn’t want tech to get in the way of the lesson. This is why the Looker Studio was created for the students. The Marketing teacher shared each of the 15 Google Forms with me. We curated all of the form data into one Google Spreadsheet – with each data in its own tab – 15 total tabs. I also like the fact that all of the data was curated into one spreadsheet…one stop shop.
Designing Questions
This activity also gave students an idea of what it is like to ask questions through a survey. Some groups decided to ask questions that allowed users to check off all options that applied. When it comes to looking at data, this type of question makes it a bit harder to make conclusions.
Excited for Possibilities
Really excited about this type of lesson. It certainly took looking at data to a different level. It was a great challenge for both Mrs. Wilczweski and I in designing and creating this Looker Studio. I am really proud of Mrs. Wilczweski for taking her lesson to the next level. This was a great curriculum application to using Looker Studio.
If you have any questions or want to talk more about how Looker Studio could be used in your curriculum, reach out.
And that is my Spiel…
Craig M Sheil 