QR Code Ideas

sites.google.com/site/janetteaches/

QR codes are finally showing up in lots of places, posters, magazines, web sites. Sometimes they direct you to a vendor's web site, sometimes to contact information, sometimes to special offers. I think they could be a useful addition to the tech integrated classroom and tech-savvy teacher.



A QR Code (it stands for "Quick Response") is a  two-dimensional  "bar" code that can store a web site's URL, plain text, phone numbers, email addresses and pretty much any other alphanumeric data you want to communicate. You need a scan app to access the code. Just launch the app, center the code image in the viewer guides and get to the info coded in the image.



So how do I see this used by a classroom teacher?

Review answers

How about coded answers to a math review? Scan the code at the left.

Maybe you have iPads in the classroom or students have smart phones. You might have different stations around the room, where QR codes are used for instructions. No one knows what to do at the station until they get there. Scanning the QR code of the URL with the device (iPad, iPhone, etc.) takes them directly to the web site, without having to fuss with getting the URL typed correctly.

You can scan a QR code being projected to a large screen or from a computer screen. If the camera can focus the image, it can read the code information.

Consider a student doing research in the media center. As they find web sites to use in research, have them create a QR code for the site. This is simply an image, so it can be stored or included in a document as desired. QR codes might be incorporated into a presentation done by students.

Have some fun with this tool. Put your contact information or your teaching schedule into a QR code. Print these on handouts or cards that you hand out to parents. If they don't know how to use the QR code, consider it a teachable moment and help them along.

The QR code is standardized, so any code-scanning app will be able to read any code image. QR codes have been used in other parts of the world for a few years and are finally getting more attention in the US. In theory, you can store up to 4296 characters, but with larger amounts of data the image resolution becomes important. Keep it well under the max character count.
<>  </><></> <>  </><></>

www.qrstuff.com

A web site that I have used successfully to create QR images is QRStuff.com. http://www.qrstuff.com/
At this site, you can create any type of QR code, then download the image. Print the image on business cards, web pages, paper handouts or post it to web pages or online profiles.


The scanner app I use on both my iPhone and iPad is called simply Scan. It is extremely easy to use, activating the QR code automatically once the device camera focuses in on the code. Scan, Inc. was founded by three friends in their college apartments in January 2011.

scan.me

SMART Notebook Screen Capture Hint

I love the Screen Capture tool in Notebook software. Here's a tip.

You may have noticed, the area capture does not create an object the same size as the original. To get a screen capture image which matches the size of the original, be sure you have the View/Zoom setting on the Notebook page to 100%, not Entire Page or Page Width. Setting the zoom to 100% before choosing the Screen Capture tool will create an object the same size of the original.

Animated Text for SMART Gallery items

Here is a simple-to-use site for creating animated text. Their words:

Generate an animated text picture (gif) with texture in 10 seconds.

It really works that quickly, unless like me, you have a hard time deciding among all the cool effects and fonts. This took 5 seconds, after I finally decided on the texture and color.

http://textanim.com/

The images are .gif, so you can download them to your computer, insert them into a SMART Notebook file and move them to the Gallery in My Content folders. Very cool!!

Thanks to Shawn at http://findingyourwaywithsmart.blogspot.com/ for pointing out this fun site.

Apple Store - iPad session 9/13

• I learned that I should join the iPad forums, as it supplies many answers and ideas. Did that as soon as I got home.
• How do I know how much space I have filled on my iPad 2? - Go to Settings, General. There it is: Capacity 59.1 B, Available 55.5 GB. Guess I have room for songs and movies!
• What about Printing? - I have a non-airprint HP printer connected to my Airport. Karen suggested that I first see if the iPad can find the printer. Printing is accessed from the Share icon, top right corner icon, page image with arrow. If not, try to use the HP ePrint app. From HP ePrint app, my printer may work, but I'm not sure if it works through Airport. I tried, but could not get output. This is a project for later.
• Does the OS update automatically? - No. Each time I connect the iPad to my computer (which I had not yet done), iTunes will auto backup. Eventually, this will be a cloud option. I have now done this. Also, let the battery run down at least once a month and shut the iPad off at least weekly.
• Can I change the names of pdf documents in iBooks? - I like the library format of iBooks, and I have many pdf docs saved here. I use it for my SMART training manuals, as well as pdf copies of my own SMART Notebook presentation files and genealogy files. Some downloaded files do not have appropriate names, but iBooks does not let you edit the name. We found (through iPad forums) that my GoodReader app will let me edit the names. Now, I have to figure out how to get GoodReader to open pdf docs saved in iBook, without sending them to myself again.
• How do I get my Camera Roll in iPad Photos to create folders? - You don't create folders in iPad Photos. So that's why I could not figure it out. You have to sync the photos to iPhoto (actually goes through iTunes), set up the Events/Albums in iPhoto, then sync them back to iPad. I did that with my gazillions photos on iPad, then back. Not a fun thing, but maybe I can now do it a little at a time. Note: since I am going to send them back to the iPad, choose "delete photo" when you sync with iPhoto.
  
• I can set Places for photos in iPhoto/Preferences. Events-Advanced "look up places automatically." Haven't done this yet.
• Evernote app can assign GPS location to notes or photos you put there.

Last question was about using Bootcamp to run WIN 7. I have to use WIN 7 in training that I do. I'm going to try to use shared/public folders to allow opening, editing, saving docs from either Mac OSX or WIN 7 applications. I don't want to have duplicates of files I use.

It was a great session!

iPad app - Geometer's Sketchpad SketchExplorer

Most high school math teachers are familiar with The Geometer's Sketchpad (GSP), dynamic geometry and mathematics visualization and exploration software, published by Key Curriculum Press.  Of course, it can be used from 3-12 grades and beyond. It is not just for geometry.

http://www.dynamicgeometry.com

You can now use your iPad to interact with and explore a document created in GSP.  Search SketchExplorer in the App Store, or go to The Geometer's Sketchpad Resource Center General Resources and click on Sketchpad Explorer for iPad to download the app to your iPad. For now, the app is free, but the price is expected to go to about $4.00 US.

The app downloads with links to several documents. To see these links, click on the book icon at the bottom right corner. You can choose to search the Sketch Exchange site directly from the app. Most fit nicely on the iPad screen, but you can choose the iPad tag to find documents that are sized to be compatible with SketchExplorer. This app will interact with most GSP documents, but you cannot create new items on the document or create a new document.

Check out the linked documents, but remember to search Sketch Exchange for more. Here are a few excellent GSP documents from the Sketch Exchange site that work well in SketchExplorer.

• Excercise Machines - This document is amazing, creating exercises for topics from polygon angle sums to special right triangles and circles. Most of these exercises create infinite versions of the same type of problem, with appropriate diagrams. Yes, the solutions are also given.
• Addition on the Open Number Line -  Students add 2- and 3-digit numbers with arcs on the open number line. Strategies for composing and decomposing numbers are developed, such as 32+48 = 32+50-2.
• Cutting up a Pi - This document shows two dissections of the circle to demonstrate why the area formula works. This document has very cool animations.
• Dancing Factors - Choose a number from 1-36 and watch the factors circle ("dance") around it. Great fun, especially for younger students. Be sure to check out the "More Activities" link on the KCP Technologies tab. This GSP document is part of The Dynamic Number Project.
• Unfolding 3-D objects - Watch a cube, square pyramid and cylinder unfold into their 2-D nets, then fold back up. You can show the vertices and change the shape of faces.
• Quadrilateral Tree - This is a nice visualization of the relationships between quadrilaterals, listing properties of each. Vertices can be manipulated to verify properties.
• Why not SSA? - This is an excellent animation to show why two sides and the non-included angle are not sufficient to show congruent triangles. Any student learning about the ways to prove two triangles are congruent will appreciate this demonstration.
• The Unit Circle - Graphs of basic trig functions are shown, as generated by the unit circle, using degrees and radians.
• Player Piano - This is a very cool document that plays Beethoven's Ode to Joy from a GSP document. Transpose the tune up or down, speed it up or slow it down. Download the document into Sketchpad 5 and follow the included instructions to create your own melody.

The Geometer's Sketchpad Resource Center is a tremendous resource for math teachers. 

http://www.dynamicgeometry.com/

Sketch Exchange is a free online community for sharing Sketchpad activities, tips, questions, and ideas.  Upload your activities or download activities created by others.

http://sketchexchange.keypress.com/

The Sketchpad LessonLink is a subscription service, providing access to Sketchpad activities and how-to videos.    http://www.keypress.com/x26771.xml