QR Codes

Generally, I have only ever seen QR codes on posters on the subway platform and in the train.  (Which makes me wonder, where do non-subway-riders ever see these?!)  For a long time, I didn't see the point -- why would I scan a QR code in the subway (where there's no cell phone service anyway) to learn more about Bud Light Lime, or Cheaptravel.com, or whatever?  A friend recently posted on Facebook that he thought QR codes were a flash in the pan gimmick, and wondered who ever used them.  One of the responses was from a mom who said that her kids LOVED to scan QR codes with her phone whenever they saw them!  So, even if they turn out to be a short-lived gimmick, kids like them, and there really are a lot of educational uses.

One of the first things I thought of was a museum use of QR codes -- instead of renting headsets for museum visitors to listen to commentary about the artwork or other things on display, QR codes could be created that are links to podcasts about the particular work of art.  That way, anybody could choose to find out more, and museums wouldn't necessarily have to rent out those bulky headset things.  While this isn't specifically geared towards schools, I would hope that museums might have kid-focused info about the exhibits, and QR codes could be generated for that.  Alternatively, if a class took a field trip to a museum, teachers could have created QR codes ahead of time with links to podcasts or other specific info, and students could scan them at the appropriate time.  

QR codes would be great for Universal Design for Learning, and other accommodations for students with disabilities.  Not only do QR codes make it easier for students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, and/or fine motor skill problems -- no URL to remember and/or type in; but the codes could also be links to alternative modes of learning -- a link to a website with assistive technology, or a video or podcast, or whatever alternative is required for all students to be able to access the information.

Scavenger hunts are a great idea, that were mentioned in a few of our readings, and I particularly liked this one, that helped students navigate a brand new school building at the beginning of the year.

Finally, QR codes are also for fun!  On one of the comments in the article we read, there was a link to this QR Voice site, where you can type in a line of text, and a QR code is generated -- when you scan it, a synthesized voice will read your text.  For something very short (like a clue to a scavenger hunt, possibly!), this would be easier than a podcast, and more fun than a link to a written line on a website.  Also, one can only imagine what students will do with this, left to their own devices... ;)  Here's one example: 

One more thing: working with QR codes makes me realize that in a perfect world, schools would be equipped with class sets of iPads for activities like these, rather than iPod touches -- the bigger screen would be important to navigate some of the links.

Content Collaboration

WebQuest
I was unfamiliar with WebQuest before this week, and I am so glad to have learned about it.  Most of my thoughts regarding WebQuest are about the teachers that will be using it.  I like how the creator of the WebQuest does not need to have a lot of webpage creating experience (and can use the QuestGarden), or if the teacher is interested in doing web editing, they can do it all themselves as well.  This seems like a great tool for teacher collaboration - it can be introduced in a professional development session, and then teachers could work together to develop WebQuests that connect the curriculum, connect the school year and the summer, and even connect the community.  Examples below:

• If an ELA teacher is teaching Blown Away by Joan Hiatt Harlow (a middle grade novel about a hurricane in the Florida Keys in the 1930's), a science teacher has a favorite weather website, and a social studies teacher wants to teach about the Great Depression using primary source material such as photographs, they could easily use the QuestGarden to create a WebQuest combining all of these things.  Students would be able to work on their WebQuest in all three classes.
• WebQuests could also be perfect for summer reading assignments -- both to make sure that students are actually completing them, and to make them more fun and engaging.  A simple WebQuest that asks students to explore one or two websites related to what they're reading over the summer is a much better way to get students thinking and sharing than writing a book report when they come back to school in the fall.
• If a school system or community has a "Great Read" project, where everyone in the school, or everyone in the community reads the same book, a WebQuest could be a school- or community-wide experience, with different sections for different ages.  Geocaching (http://www.geocaching.com/) is a great activity for whole families and communities, and could easily be part of a successful WebQuest.

 

International Children's Digital Library

I've been looking around the ICDL website (http://en.childrenslibrary.org/) for a couple of days, and have been both frustrated by some of the workings of the site, as well as impressed by the incredibly diverse collection of books from around the world, that you wouldn't be able to find anywhere else!

My first impression of the ICDL site was that it's pretty clear it's been around for a while -- well before Tumblebooks or Bookflix, or other very easy-to-navigate digital children's books sites.  I have not found the site to be that intuitive, or well-organized, and the searches offered to me seemed kind of weird (who looks for a book by the color of the cover?!)  I was thinking about appeal terms that   Also, every time I went back to the home page, I had to sign in again.

Thanks to Shannon's tweet, I discovered the ipad app -- I never would have found the link with the tiny font, only found on the bottom corner of the home page, a link that disappears as soon as you sign in!  It shows that they are trying to keep up with the latest in digital children's books; however, I honestly don't see what's so different about the app from the regular site, except that it's even harder to navigate than the website, because there aren't back and forward arrows, and many of the books can't be read on the ipad because they require a java plugin!  In addition, when I was exploring the exhibitions, and the activities that went along with the exhibitions (which I'll describe below), the app took me to a page that described the activity, which was a dead end!  I couldn't go back or forward, there were no hyperlinks on the page, and no way to get away from the page.  I had to completely quit the app and start over.  I think both the app and the site need to be completely overhauled by a talented web designer -- there is too much good on here to let it go unexplored due to website issues!

Aside from these technical issues, once I actually got into reading the books, I enjoyed it very much.  Where else can anyone have access to so many books from around the world!  I wished all of them had been translated into English just so that I could read more.  While I was reading one book that I'd just happened upon, I noticed that it said it was part of an exhibition, so I clicked forward to find out what an exhibition was.  In Exhibitions, I found some very useful collections of books, categorized under a main heading (such as "Strong Women and Girls Help Make the World Go Round" and "Clearing the Hurdles"), and with a list of books that fit the exhibition theme, each with a description, and a link to activities that could be done in the classroom with these books.  Despite this being where I got to a dead end on the app, some of the activity ideas were great -- for example, read the English description and look at the illustrations of one of the books in a foreign language, then make up what you think the story is about.  This is a great resource for teachers, as it makes something as huge as the ICDL site manageable for easily using in the classroom.  It also looks as though members of the site can create their own exhibitions, and submit them to ICDL - something ripe for possibility, with the wealth of books on the site, and currently only six exhibitions.

The books I decided to annotate below were all part of one or more exhibitions.

The Christmas Tree Ship by Jeanette Winter
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/432512271

Taming the Taniwha by Tim Tipene, illustrated by Henry Campbell (published in New Zealand)
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/432526197

The next book was not available on Goodreads, as it has not available in the United States, so I put the annotation below.

Bakat Matagal Ang Sundo Ko?/Why is my Mommy Late? by Kristine Canon, illustrated by Mariano Ching (translated from Filipino/Tagalog, published in Philippines)
School's out, and while mommies and daddies are waiting in the schoolyard for all her classmates, a little girl's mommy is not there.  While trying not to worry, her imagination takes hold, and the girl imagines all the animals - turtles, monkeys, whales - that might be trying to help (or hinder!) her mommy in coming to pick her up.  And just when she can't hold back her tears any more - aha!  Mommy is finally there.  Putting a creative twist on a universal experience, bright, bold illustrations and silhouettes are the perfect match for this imaginative tale.

611 Library Promotion Video

I was excited to use some of the features of iMovie that I've been exploring, so my library promotion video went a little long (it's about 30 seconds), and I had fun doing a voiceover and adding background music.  I also wanted to do something a little more exciting (and seasonally appropriate) than just recording me talking about the library with a webcam.  I used my phone to record the video, and while it's not super great quality, I think it turned out fine for a short, fun promotion like this.

Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UyrQQmTIOiY

This is not my 611 library promotion video...

...but it's my first iMovie editing attempt, so I thought I'd post it here.  Luckily, I found iMovie to be generally intuitive (with a few exceptions), and watched some YouTube videos of how to use iMovie too.  I put together some videos of my daughter playing piano and reciting poems over the past couple of years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ8No43ztEY