QR Codes

Hey everyone! Here is my third video blog using a new Mac app I found called Jing which allows you to record audio and capture your screen! I have been playing around with lots of different websites and apps like this and wanted to give it a try. Jing is a free download but you do need to create an account. The other side of Jing is  screencaster.com which allows you to save, edit and share your videos. One thing I really like about Jing is the ability to pause and resume recording. The free version allows for a 5 minute recording. I found Jing while stalking a new blog that I am in love with called Fried Technology and she used it to grade Google Doc assignments, definitely something I am going to pursue. Anyways, I had every intention of writing my own blog post last night BUT I spent hours (yes, I know it was a Saturday night) reading through Amy's previous posts. I know I am a nerd. I also joined the rest of the world on Twitter and found some people to follow. I know you must be thinking, "What took you so long?" and I am not really sure I have the answer other than I just didn't "get it" actually I still don't think I "get it!" BUT if you are on Twitter you can now follow me!

Anyways, this is a quick tutorial on how to make a QR Code using a website called QR Stuff. I have mentioned my obsession with QR Codes here, here and here but haven't really gone into too much detail about what they are or how to make them so I hope this helps get you started if they are new to you OR gives you an idea for using them if you have some experience already. QR Code scavenger hunts are easy to create, super engaging and a lot of fun for everyone!  

How have YOU used QR Codes in your classroom? 

School Based Orientation

Yesterday was our first day with the new teachers! I think I've mentioned that I wear many hats at my school and one of them is Lead Mentor. My morning got off to a rocky start after reading this blog post titled Why I Hated Meredith's First Grade Teacher: An Open Letter to America's Teachers!

If you don't know much about me yet or have just stopped by it would be helpful to know that I have taught first grade for five years and I have L-O-V-E-D every second of it and this year I will be taking on a new position! I am beyond thrilled with the new opportunity but yesterday as I read this my eyes welled with tears and I had my first real melt down over not teaching first grade this year! I will not get to be someone's Ms. Miner this year and that made my heart ache! I have been THAT teacher for some very special little people and I know the feeling it gives! In an effort to pull myself together for the new teachers I texted two of my closet friends (mind you this was at 7:00am on their LAST free day before we are back to school) and they both offered their words of comfort and wisdom!

I was able to get it together and could not have had a better first day with the newbies! This year is unique in the fact that we have 12 new teachers (we are a pretty small school - 3 teachers per grade level 1-8 and all specialists). At times this has made me beyond nervous because I will be in a new position myself and Meghan and I have only mentored 1 to 4 people at a time so this group is rather large for us. We had a jam packed day and we were really worried about overwhelming or scaring off our new teachers with the list of expectations. We tried to make the day as interactive and fun as possible while also being informative and clear of what we needed from them! We started our day using Today's Meet to follow up from their county wide orientation the previous two days! I blogged about it awhile back if you want to check it out over here. It was a big hit and Meghan and I have all of their comments from the day right here which is a great take away for us to be able to reflect on the day and follow up on anything they mentioned throughout the day! I was so happy with the amount of teachers who were excited to take back QR Codes and implement them in their classroom! We plan to use Today's Meet at other faculty meetings and definitely tech trainings. Next we did an ice breaker with candy (for each piece of candy you took you had to tell about yourself) which was a great way to get to know everyone. It is so fun hearing what people have to say about themselves, we have one lady who described herself as Martha Stewart but in brown and she just cracked us all up. We have a funny, articulate and very talented group! After that we got down and dirty with expectations which is where we saw the panic begin! We tried to cruise through this and then hit the lab for some tech things. They had 2 hours for lunch and time in their classroom. Our AP treated us all to lunch with a panini bar and her as the chef in the lounge. It was a great time for everyone to relax and chat. After lunch the AP talked to everyone about evaluations and a few other admin things. For the best part of the day we sent the mentees on a QR Code scavenger hunt around the building to find key people and places! They were SO into it and some were even running from place to place with excitement. We closed up the day chatting about our meetings, brainstorming first week ideas and reflecting on the day again with Today's Meet! So many of the teachers thanked us for a great day and were very appreciative which made us feel really good.

We have such a range of newbies  and I am so thrilled to welcome each and every one of them to our family. They all have great personalities, are filled with enthusiasm, have open minds and are willing to learn. They come from many different backgrounds and levels of experiences. I had such a great day and before I knew it it was 4:00. I was sitting in my room decompressing from being "on" all day and then I realized that these 12 teachers are my new babies... and that the teacher's of my school are my babies. I think I will be ok with being THEIR Ms. Miner! I know it won't be the same but it will be a different kind of awesome and I will be learning just as much from them as I hope that they can learn from me!

QR Codes

Last year I became obsessed with QR Codes in the classroom! They have the potential to do SOOO many different things and my kids loved using them! The engagement level was insane and I looked for every possible way to integrate them into 1st grade curriculum and can't wait to use them in the lab this year.

I'm sure you have seen them EVERYWHERE! They look like this ------------>

A QR Code is actually short for a quick response code! All you need is an iPod, iPad, tablet or smart phone with a QR Scanner app. There are tons of apps but I prefer QRafter for iPod/iPad and QR Droid for my smart phone. It is pretty much a point and scan to bring up whatever is behind the QR Code. Go ahead scan it, you know you want to!!! There is a message waiting just for YOU (and Alex) just click the link! Don't forget to click the word SMILE to brighten your day too!

There are also TONS of generator sites that are so user friendly and simple. Basically you can link ANYTHING to a QR Code (text, pictures, email addresses, websites, maps, phone numbers, you get the point, etc. etc. etc.). I really loved QR Stuff to make basic QR Codes with text or websites but QR Code Maker allows you too add pictures or files which is awesome. There are millions of other sites just Google QR Code generator! Some have the possibility of changing shape, color and even adding a picture in the middle. They are so easy to copy and paste into a Microsoft Word document or even a SMART Notebook file or you can print several at a time on labels!

One of the *many* hats I wear at work is co-lead mentor with my PIC (partner in crime), Meghan! As we were preparing for our new staff orientation (we have 12 new teachers, yes you read that right, 12 new) we decided to integrate QR Codes into our day with a scavenger hunt to get the teachers acquainted with the building. How fun, right? I cannot wait to teach the newbies about QR Codes and show them just how fun and easy they are if they haven't already explored with them. The scavenger hunt goes to 15 different key places in the building with a funny, witty, lame rhyme clue and they have to take a silly picture at each place to prove they were there! Now this is just ONE professional development way to use QR Codes.

Kids LOVE scavenger hunts and QR Codes are a great way to design a hunt, self-checking worksheets or activites, questions in a book to promote reading comprehension, learn more about places on a map, the list goes on and on and on. How have you used QR Codes in your classroom OR if you haven't before where will you begin using them?