Pinspired Thursday

Just a Primary Girl has started a new Thursday linky titled, "Pinspired Thursday." I thought I'd link up with her to share a pin I've recently come across, and will use  in my classroom tomorrow.  The pin is titled "Reflection Facilitated by QR Codes." These QR codes were created by Tony Vincient at Learning in Hand. 

Tomorrow is our last day with iPads:( And I thought it would be a good idea to use Tony's reflection qr code generator to reflect on the year. Each time students scan the qr code they are asked one of 25 plus reflection questions (I wonder how he set this up). Some of the questions students will see are: "What was most challenging?", "What helped your learning?", and "When something got hard, what did you do to help yourself?" 

Students will be required to answer ten questions and they may choose to work alone or with a partner. Students will have the option of typing out their answers or having a partner ask them the questions (interview style) and recording them. Tony does offer a cube that has six different ways students can answer each question. I've chosen not to use that part this late in the year, but will definitely try it out next year. You can read more about this pin, as well as a host of other qr code ideas, on my QR Code Pinterest board. 

I would love to hear how you have used qr codes in your classroom. Please comment below. 

Apps A-Z: QR Codes with RedLaser (Made it Monday)

Happy Monday! Today, I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for Made it Monday. I made some fun, inspiring, QR coded posters for my classroom. I saw the original idea on Pinterest. QR codes cover a portion of the quote, and students use their QR reader to scan the code and reveal the missing portion. I'm going with a Dr. Seuss theme this year, so all of the quotes are from Dr. Seuss. I used these  wonderfully wacky backgrounds and frames by Tracee Orman on TPT; they match my Dr. Seuss theme perfectly.

Hopefully, having these posters up will  inspire my students. 

Scanning and Creating QR Codes: 

There are several free and paid QR code reader apps; I use RedLaser. It is a free app that allows you to scan and create QR codes. 

Creating a QR code in RedLaser: 

After opening the app click on the more button. (bottom right)

Click QR code creator. 

You now have several options for creating QR codes. Let's share text. 

You are given 458 characters to type your text. Once you're done select generate. (upper right)

Your code is now complete and you are ready to share it. Click on the share arrow. (Top right) 

You have two options for sharing. I like to save to my camera roll. I am then able to place it in other documents were I can resize it.

How do you choose to make QR codes? 

For more ideas on using QR codes in the classroom visit my Pinterest board, and don't forget to stop by 4th Grade Frolics to see other Made it Monday Projects. 

Have you discovered any Back-to-School Bargains? If so, link up with my Back-to-School Bargains linky party. 

Roland with iPads Week 1

Today ended our second week of school, and our first week with iPads. Despite the fact that there are still some things to work out the students learned a lot and were very excited!

During the first week students wrote bio-poems, they were anxious to type them up and create their QR codes. That was our first activity, and it was a success. Read my post titled "QR Bio Code".

Inspiration Maps was the next app we used, and I will say this is a must have for any language arts teacher. I had never used it before, but it was very easy to use. We created cluster maps about ourselves, and with a tap we could turn our cluster map into an outline.

PDF Expert was another app we learned to use this week. Our text book and workbooks are loaded into this app., so we will be using this app a lot! It seems easier to navigate through compared to some of the other PDF apps I've used. I also used it for grading. I liked the fact that you are able to create custom stamps, that serve the same purpose as stickers you are probably use to placing on students papers.

Finally, students learned to use their email. This is how most work gets turned in. So, it was very important that students understood how to send and receive emails.

It was a good first week with iPads! I even learned a few things from my students. Looking forward to next week.