Summer might feel far away right now, but those of us who organize summer camps and summer field trips are already getting into full planning mode for the summer. If you have organized any kind of camp, field trip, or summer workshop you might have used Google Forms or good old fashioned paper forms to collect registration information. This year there is a better way to collect and organize registration information. That way is to use JotForm to organize camp registrations.
What is JotForm?
JotForm is a service for creating great-looking and highly-functional forms for collecting information from form visitors. You can embed your JotForm forms into an existing webpage or you can simply direct people to the URL for your stand-alone JotForm form. JotForm offers dozens of design themes that you can apply to your forms. In the gallery of themes you’ll find designs that like this one that are perfect for summer camp registrations. And if you’re making the switch from using Google Forms to using JotForm, you can import your Google Forms’ information directly into a theme in JotForm.
Features of JotForm not Found in Google Forms
JotForm has a lot of features that make it a great tool for creating registration forms. Some of those features include the option to have personalized confirmation notices sent to registrants without the need for a third-party add-on, the option to collect signatures in forms, and the option to collect payments directly through your forms. Those features are all available in the free version of JotForms. Those who choose to upgrade can create HIPAA-compliant forms which can be used to collect important information like food allergies in your registration forms.
If you’re interested in using JotForm to create registration forms for summer camps and similar activities, you will want to check out this guide on how to start a camp.
How to Use JotForm?
Whether you’re creating a form for summer camp registrations, creating a form for a field trip, or creating a form to make an interest survey, JotForm is equally easy to use. Watch my video tutorial or read on for detailed directions on how to use JotForm to create forms.
To get started you will need to create a free JotForm account. Once you have created your account click the “create form” button and choose whether you want all questions to be on one page or if you want to have respondents answer one question per page in an index card style. Once you have selected a layout you can choose to use a template, build a form from scratch, or import questions from an existing form even if that form was made with another service including Google Forms.
If you choose to build a form from scratch rather than use a template you will have to drag question types onto a blank form canvas. You can add open response questions, multiple choice questions (single selection and multiple selection), and questions that require a response in the form of a file upload. There is also a star rating question format. Additionally, you can add pictures, charts, block text to forms that you design in JotForm.
After you have added all of your questions you can customize the color and font scheme of your form. You can apply any colors to your form that you can think of. The text options are almost as plentiful as the color options. And if you really want to customize your form’s look, you can open the advanced editor where you’ll find options for text alignment, background images, and object spacing. There’s even an option for adding custom CSS.
After you have added all of your questions and settled on the design of your JotForm form you can preview it to see how it will look to visitors. If you like the way it looks, you’re ready to publish it. You can share your JotForm forms by emailing or posting your form’s URL online. JotForm forms can also be embedded into your existing web pages. Those are options are typical of every online form-builder. What makes JotForm different is that it contains an option to download your form as a fillable PDF!
Responses to your JotForm form are found through your JotForm dashboard. To see responses simply select your form then click “submissions.” You can see all submissions in a spreadsheet format or you can view them as individual PDFs that you can download, print, or email. And speaking of PDFs, JotForm has an excellent guide to editing PDFs.
Disclosure: JotForm is an advertiser on Free Technology for Teachers.
