Monthly Archives: April 2011

April 26, 2011 · 7:41 AM

4/26 Tech Talk: ReadWriteThink

This week’s Tech Talk is: ReadWriteThink.

ReadWriteThink is a nonprofit website maintained by the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Council of Teachers and English (NCTE), with support from the Verizon Foundation through the Thinkfinity Consortium. The site provides many resources including lesson plans and student interactives. Check out this area of the site to learn more about what ReadWriteThink offers. The site favorites are usually the student interactives! To find them from the homepage, click on classroom resources/student interactives. Note that you can sort them by grade level, interactive type, learning objective, and theme. Some common favorites are the comic strip creator, the story map, and the word family sort. One drawback is that you cannot always save all of the work you’ve done within the interactive, so the students may have to complete the activity in one setting. (It is a case by case basis…so be sure to check the one you like!) If printing is the only option, you can also print to the CutePDF option and it will save as a PDF.

Have a great week!

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April 19, 2011 · 8:41 AM

4/19 Tech Talk: QR Codes

This week’s Tech Talk is: QR Codes

Have you ever seen an image like this???

This is an image of a QR Code. A QR Code is a “quick response” code that is detected by barcode readers and camera phones. The information contained in the code can be text, a URL or other data. You can easily create your own QR Codes with a website like this. As I was pulling resources, I found a LiveBinder with a TON of great QR Code resources HERE. There are several ways to incorporate QR Codes into the classroom – here is one of my favorite sites. You can also Google “QR Codes in the classroom” to get several great results.

To read a QR Code, you will need to download an app on your SmartPhone or iDevice (there is Barcode Scanner App for Androids or QR Reader for iPhone/iTouch 5th Generation/iPad 2nd Generation for example). There is also a program you can download to read the QR codes on your computer. (It isn’t flawless and you will need a webcam.) Give it a try…try to scan the QR Code that is included in this email!

Let me know if you have any further questions about QR Codes! Have a great week!

P.S. If you happen to be at the mall from April 21-24th, Old Navy is having a QR Code Easter Egg Hunt!

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April 7, 2011 · 12:52 PM

4/7 Tech Talk: Kerpoof

This week’s Tech Talk is: Kerpoof

Kerpoof is a website that provides students with the ability to make artwork, animated movies, cards, stories, and drawings. Students can also earn “Koins” to trade for accessories at the Kerpoof store. You can easily create student accounts by using their school usernames and passwords, two security questions (What is your pet’s name?), and a teacher’s email address. Once the students have individual accounts, they can save, edit, and share their work with a few simple clicks of the mouse. This website is a great tool for students to use to create their very own illustrated stories. Most importantly…IT’S FREE! Here is a brief video that shows you some of things that Kerpoof will do.

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April 1, 2011 · 6:50 AM

Have You Googled Yourself Lately?

Have you Googled your child(ren) lately? If you are Googling their name, remember to put quotes around it. Also think about Googling their screen name, phone number, and/or email. You can even set up a Google Alert that will tell you when certain information is posted online. Have you Googled yourself lately? J Let’s help ALL of our students create a digital footprint that they are proud of!!!

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