The Weekend Blogger!

Happy weekend friends!!! I feel like I need to change my blog name to "The Weekend Blogger" now that school is in full swing! I know September is always the hardest so I won't change my name JUST yet and I am going to work on using the scheduled blogs so it will at least seem like I am blogging during the week! On top of the back to school business as usual I managed to catch something (only took 9 school days this year) so I am feeling extra exhausted and miserable this weekend.

Today I am linking up with The Idea Backpack for a technology tips linky party! I know I have shared my obsession with QR Codes before and have mentioned their vast capabilities! QR Stuff is an awesome website for generating simple QR Codes linked to plain text, websites, facebook, twitter, etc. BUT what if you want to link to a picture or document like I've mentioned before? You will need QR Code Maker. This website allows you to link documents, pictures, pdfs, etc. to a QR Code.

Step 1:

Step 2, 3, 4, 5:

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Step 7:

You can use QR Codes for really simple activities or much more elaborate and complex projects! They can be used in A-N-Y, I repeat any classroom setting!!! This week I will be introducing the 1st graders to iPods and QR Codes for the first time. Since they are learning about American symbols I created a QR Code linked to a photo for each symbol and then printed labels of the 5 symbol names for them to match! They are also doing graphing in math so I created a Google Form (poll of their favorite symbol) that they will be taking via QR Code which we will be working with later which also hits their voting objective. 

While I am ALL FOR the use of technology in the classroom this brings me to an important point... tech for the sake of tech is NOT the correct implementation. It is so easy to integrate your curriculum with technology. Technology should be used to enhance instruction, engagement, motivation, etc. If you feel like you are going out of your way to bring technology into your classroom or that it is just "something else" then you are approaching it all wrong! Technology should be used as a tool to help improve instruction! Technology can be a powerful tool for differentiation and individualization.