More on QR codes

QR Codes continue to show up everywhere, and I've found tons of new ways to use them since my last post - QR Codes in the Special Education Classroom.

Recently, I spoke to a group of transition professionals in my area.  Now, I'll be the first to admit that transition planning is not something I've done a ton of.  I have spent my entire career in the primary grades, so this was an interesting exercise to think of ways to use this technology with older students and adults.  Here were some of my ideas:

-Set up a QR code in a job placement/work area, when someone scans it, it links them to a blog where directions for the job site are posted.  These directions could be changed on a regular basis and since it is a blog/website you can do it remotely.  No need to visit the job site.

-If you are in a suburban/urban area, you could create a QR code that would link the student to the "live" bus times allowing them to see when the bus might be coming.

-Create a QR code with students personal information for them to keep in their wallet/purse.  If there is a time when they are lost, they can be taught to pull it out and have someone scan it.  Much safer than just leaving personal information in plain text.  (Thanks to Jeanne my OT for thinking of this one!)

-QR codes can be attached to different items at a job site, when a student scans it text is revealed, if using iOS they can have it read to them and give them directions for what to do with the items.

-Create a QR code for when a student is finished, it will text the job coach, and let them know they are finished with the job.

I really think the possibilities are endless!!!  What makes it so compelling is the QR codes can embed links to websites, text, phone numbers, or text message and it's all for free.  You can create all these types of QR codes here at http://qrcode.kaywa.com.

If you are interested in more information on QR codes, check out this information from Judy Okazai from SetConnections.org - QR Codes

And this is a great post about QR codes and how to use them and create a math lesson from Free Tech 4 Teachers - QR Codes in the Classroom

Patrick


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RSS Readers

I know I've done a post on this, but it bears repeating. If you are reading this blog by checking it everyday, you are losing valuable time. RSS readers allow you to see all the different news and blogs you like to read on a daily basis in one place. Karen Jankowski of EdTech Solutions has posted a great set of links that explain RSS in plain english as well as provide tutorials on how to set it up:

RSS Readers

RSS readers bring in content from news sources (CNN, Newspapers, Drudge Report...), blogs, even photo sites like flickr. It's a great way to keep up on all your important reading!

Bookshare.org

Yes, it's been a few days since I posted, I hope this post will make up for it. A great website for all students with disabilities is Bookshare.org. This is a site dedicated to providing digital texts to all students with disabilities. Recently the site received a large grant to provide this service FREE!!! Read about it here.

The texts provided are digital and able to be read by most text readers. A free download of the Victor Reader which will work with these texts. Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (SCD) qualify under the Learning Disability section, or physical disability if they have a specific physical limitation that keeps them from accessing printed materials. You can sign up an individual or you can sign up by school or ogranization.

So head over to Bookshare.org and get started using digital text to help your child or student!

Patrick

Google Reader

I would like to thank Paul Hamilton for the today's post.

As I have been starting to do this blog, I've become more interested in other blogs. If you look at the right hand side, of this page you will find at least 5 that I currently check out each day, and if I'm honest that's not even a full list. If you're like me you don't remember much by yourself, so that Means I have to bookmark each site, and remember to go to it each day. There's an easier way.

I was reminded of this by Paul, when I was reading his blog (so make sure to check his out), RSS Readers. RSS is like a ticker - every time something changes on a page, it updates the ticker and you see the result. You have to subscribe to the "feed", which will allow you to see the changes. To see the feed you need a "reader" which understands RSS, one like the Google Reader. Here's a photo of what it looks like:



Once you sign up for Google Reader (actually if you have a gmail account it is the same password), you can click the Add Subscriptions link on the left side of the screen and add a blog (like teachingall.blogspot.com), newspaper, or anything that has an RSS feed. To find these feeds go to a website, like Chicagotribune.com and look on the bottom of the page for the RSS link, once that page opens you can copy the address, then use the add subscriptions link to add it to your reader.

Once you've added some link you will see that they are listed, and all the "new" posts are listed. You can then read the new ones and ignore the old ones if you want. You can also see all the items you've subscribed to, so you can see if blogs have been updated, thus having all the information in one place.

The other nice feature of Google Reader is that you can save posts (by clicking the star), e-mail/share posts with friends, and you will never lose them, because just like Gmail, you have basically infinite storage. Hope this will help all, keep reading and please feel free to comment on any of my posts. I'd love to get some feedback!