Check out BoClips.  It's an educational video site.  If you sign up before June 30, 2019 you will get a free year of BoClips.  It was recommended by Monica Burns.  As I have shared numerous times throughout the year Monica Burns is continually sharing resources that she learns about and this one looks really nice. I created an account and look at the videos available.  There are vidoes for a variety of content areas. Click here to get your free account before June 30th.

To continue the share out of Monica Burns book Deeper Learning with QR codes and Augmented Reality this weeks information includes tips as to why you would want to try using QR codes and AR activities as well as ideas to use in your classroom.  In this weeks share and the coming weeks shares we will look at the ACES framework (Access, Curate, Engage, and Share).  This week you will see that there are numerous reasons to use of QR codes and AR as well as lots of ways to provide access to content by your students.

Reasons for using QR codes and AR triggers:
1. Use quickly gets all students on the same page or to the same resource.
2. Use eliminates the frustration of students who are trying to type in the correct URL. 
3. Use of QR codes and AR triggers is a time saver in that the teacher doesn't have to move from student to student devices trying to get them to the correct site or resource.
4. Use easily allows for differentiation.
5. Use of QR codes or AR triggers can assist your students in developing a deeper understanding of a science topic they are learning about or a story they read in their ELA class or a period in history they are learning about and so much more. 
6. Easy access to content and resources any time and any where for students - this helps students to become self-directer learners.

Ways  you may want to use QR codes and AR triggers:
1.  Posters and Boards which display links to resources, videos and hands-on simulations to reinforce and expand learning
2.  Do Now message to start the day or end a lesson
3. Word Walls - which could include videos about the words or giving an example of the word in use.
4. Anchor charts that are a resource to help students solve a math problem, participate in a read aloud activity, and checkout a primary resource by strategically placing scannable technology with a book or on a sheet to be reviewed prior to or just after reading specific passages, just to name a few.

In summary, scannable technology improves student access to materials in the classroom and around the school and promotes self-directed learning.   Check back next week for tips on how to Curate to guide your student's learning. 

​If you would like to check out Monica Burns blog just go to https://classtechtips.com/.  She has lots of great information, books and freebies.  

To celebrate Earth Day Google has shared a Create Your Own Google Logo for Earth Day.  They have partnered with the World Wildlife fund.  There are teacher resources so you can get your students going on creating their own Google Logo for their favorite animal.  Click here for an introductory video to get you started.  Here is a link to teacher resources.  Teachers can sign in and create their own class. 

In the past two weeks you were provided with information and resources about QR codes and how they could be used in the classroom.  This week we move on to Augmented Reality or AR.  Augmented Reality allows students to engage with content on a new level.

Before we move forward with our learning let us take a quick step back and make sure all are focused on a key point.  As with any type of technology integration remember to always keep the learning goal that you want your students to focus on in mind.  Make sure you are clear what the connection is between task students will complete and the learning goal you want to address.  Once you have identified this then you should look for the app or tool you will use.   This quick phrase "tasks before apps" will help you keep this in your mind. 

Today we begin our journey to understanding AR.  This is a scannable technology that involves the use of mobile devices and a trigger.  It works like this.  A piece of paper might be a trigger and when the student opens a specific app and hovers over the trigger it activates the AR image to pop up on the screen of the mobile device.  What appears could be 3-D geometric shapes that students are going to manipulate or it might be the human body that students are going to explore and study.  There are numerous AR apps available for both iPad and Android devices.  More resources will be provided later in this post.

So, getting started with AR is as easy as downloading an AR app and if needed print out an AR trigger. So let's begin with locating some apps.  I have curated a number of apps below to show you variety that is available.  If you go to the apps store on your iOS device and search AR Apps or Augmented Reality Apps you will see all the ones currently available.  Some are free, some have in-app costs, some charge to download the app.  A number of the apps I am sharing are free.

Some of the recent iOS apps available are showcased below, but there are many, many more. T
Froggipedia - This app lets the user examine a life-size frog's skeleton, nervous system, and major organs.  Using a virtual scalpel, users can walk through a simulated dissection of the amphibian, complete with pressure sensitivity to make sure your virtual cuts aren't too deep.

WWF Free Rivers - With this app the World Wildlife Fund illustrates the difference that building dams with sustainability in mind can have on the environment and local communities.  Users get to interact with the detailed landscape of hills, rivers, and a local farming ecosystem. User even get the chance to move in and out of the clouds of a dynamic rainstorm.

HP Reveal - HP Reveal, formerly Aurasma, changes the way users interact with the physical world.  Discover augmented reality (AR) experiences and create your own AR.

Bring photos, posters, birthday cards, and more to life.  With HP Reveal, print is only the beginning.Bring photos, posters, birthday cards, and more. With HP Reveal, print is only the beginning – and we can’t wait to see what you create

Quiver App - Coloring pages have never been so much fun! The Quiver App combines physical coloring with state of the art augmented reality technology to bring you and your children an extraordinary experience.  Click here to go to the Quiver Apps.

Geogebra AR - This app turns 3D graphs of mathematical equations into virtual objects you can walk around and through.   Users can see the effects of altering variables of a trigonometric function, or how points on an icosahedron line up with a soccer ball's pentagon pattern.  Users can zoom in and take screenshots of specific areas so then can familiarize themselves with underlying concepts.

Arloon Plants App - This allows students to interact with their plant and watch it grow.

JigSpace - This app answers the questions to how models of common objects- such as alarm clocks, toaster, batteries and more, work.  Users can take apart objects piece by piece with a step-by-step breakdown of the role each plays in the whole. 

Augmented Reality Solar System by ARKit Solar System at home!  Click here to check out videos of this AR app.  This app is for those who are curious about our world and how it interacts with the space around it.  With a quick tap you can explore the planets in a realistic scale.

The Very Hungry Catepillar.  Click here to see a trailer of what the AR looks like. My Very Hungry Caterpillar AR is an educational app that makes learning about nature fun. Kids take care of a cute caterpillar by feeding, playing, and tucking him into bed. They can see the caterpillar flourish and grow into a beautiful butterfly as they nurture him. Then, the adventure begins again with a new egg to look after.

This is just a reminder to those who have had some really great ideas for camp presentations.  Friday, April 19th is the deadline for signing up for your presentation.  Click here for the link to add your presentation to the list.

This year at R2R Camp teachers will have the opportunity to become Nearpod Certified Educators.  Our Keynote speaker on Day 2 will be Alisa Feng.  In addition, Alisa will be spending the day offering Nearpod workshops to participants.  Emily Kress, our in-house Nearpod Pioneer, will be facilitating a Nearpod sandbox where teachers can apply their knowledge obtained and create a Nearpod lesson which you can use in your classroom.  You will also have the opportunity to share your lesson to obtain the Nearpod Certified Educator recognition.  To become a Nearpod Certified Educator you must meet the following criteria:
​
1. Attend a live webinar, a self-paced webinar, or an in-person training
2. Create a lesson that follows our "best practices" lesson guide
3. Launch a Nearpod lesson to at least 15 students

The good news is that you can complete all 3 parts of this criteria at R2R Camp, get the Nearpod Certified Educator recognition, get credit toward your extra 4 hours and get Act 48 credit.  Wow!  Isn't this a great reason to mark your calendar to come to R2R Camp on June 5th?  

I have attached Nearpod Certified Educator Lesson guidelines for those who are already using Nearpod and may want to participate in the certification process by using a lesson you have already created.  

If you have already completed the 3 steps above and you have a lesson that meets the Nearpod Certified Educator Lesson Guidelines, here is a link to apply to be a Nearpod Certified Educator. Click Here.

Last week, on Week 30, I shared information about how to create a QR code, sites and apps for QR code generators and I briefly touched on ways a QR code could be used.   This week the share is about static and dynamic QR codes, some additional ideas for QR code use and 3 tips for helping you to smoothly integrate QR codes into your instruction.

When you use a QR code creator you may notice the option on the site for choosing a static or dynamic QR code.   First, it's important to know the difference.  A static QR code is connected to one website and is always connected to the same link.  A dynamic QR code always looks the same but you can change the destination it takes someone when they scan it.

To manage a dynamic QR code a user will have to create a login for a QR code website.  Once you create a dynamic QR code  you can go back into the site on which you created it and change the link the QR code is connected to. This is a way to save paper and time.  You can post a QR code and use it for the month, semester or even the year. 

This is useful if you have a monthly newsletter and you share it out with a QR code to parents.  No matter when they scan the code if it's a dynamic QR code the most recent newsletter will be shown.  If you put messages on your classroom door for students, you can update the messages without having to take down the QR code and put a new one in its place.  Maybe each day your QR code on the door is an entrance activity they scan and complete upon entering the room while you take attendance or work with individual student questions.  If you have a particular website for the lesson of the day, students can be directed to it right at the start of the class.  You might have a daily exit activity and students learn to access this through dynamic QR code given to them at the beginning of a unit or course and put into their notebooks. Students could use that same QR code continually and it will take them to different activities or websites where they will complete their assigned activity.  You could create 5 dynamic QR codes, one for each day of the week or for each building letter day and display them in the room or on a sheet you created for student notebooks.   This would allow you to continually update the QR codes weekly but also give students who are absent the chance to catch up on a QR activity if they are absent a day.  

Three additional tips about QR codes. 
1.  Always check your codes to make sure they work before you post or share them.
2.  When using multiple QR codes on a sheet, make sure to  space them apart so students it will be easier for students to scan them.  The QR size on a sheet should be 2" across. Using a larger QR code on a projection screen or bulletin board is fine as students could scan it from further away.
3. If you are using multiple static QR codes on a page, think about adding the full web address at the bottom of the page.  This will help you and the students keep track of which sites the QR codes go to.  You could even note the Unit and LEQ on the QR code.

Stay tuned for week 32 of CVSD Tech Tips as we move to a share out on augmented reality.

I have seen several times now where users feel they are having internet or connectivity issues, when in reality the issue is with their Chrome Web browser and issues on the Google End.

See attached picture to see the box where the error message will occur when you are in GMAIL, DOCS, SHEETS, and the other Google Web Apps.  The error will be something to an extent of not being able to connect to a server.. That server is located in a Google Data center and has nothing to do with us, at CVSD.

The remedy in every situation has been to update Chrome.. This is an easy process but it does not happen automatically.. You can do this on MAC, Chromebooks, and Windows PCs.  See attached video (Please use VLC Player to view)

And as always have a great day and if any TECH issues arise email CVTDhelpdesk@cvcolonials.org and we will have a Tech ready to assist.

Congratulations to those teachers in the district who were nominated and selected as Keystone Technology Innovators.  Katie Appleby from NOHS, Jen Selby from CTE, Katie Abendschein from NOE and Joanna Knott from CVIS were invited to the Keystone Summit which will be held at  the Shippensburg University this summer.  Congratulations to these teachers for their recognition.

If you have EL students in your class, please check out the Google Teacher Training.  Click here to access the training.  This is just one of a number of resources for teachers of EL students in the Schoology course.  See the next topic in this weeks blog for more information for training for working with EL students.

If you work with EL students check out this course.  It contains a variety of information to educate, inform and train you on how to work with EL students.   Here is the code to join the Schoology course DD8NS-6T5GB.  Check it out.

Monica Burns wrote a book entitled Deeper Learning with QR Codes and Augmented Reality.  She has lots of ideas shared by other educators for using QR codes and augmented reality. It's a quick read with some great shares.  I am working on a self-paced Schoology course for teachers and I hope to have it ready to go in the fall for those who like on-line learning as as option for your 4 extra hours.  In the meantime, I am going to share some of the ideas in the CVSD Tech Blog posts between now and the end of the year.  

To get started you need a QR code creator.  Some creators to consider are QRcode.Kaywa.com or QRStuff.com.  Both are free to use to create a QR code.  To create a QR code usually takes 3 steps.  1.  Copy the link to a website; 2. Paste the link into the QR code generator, 3. Download the QR code.  

QR Codes are great timesavers because they can get students out to a weblink quickly without having the students take time to type in a long URL. Students can quickly get to the correct video, article or research material online.  The QR codes can be printed and placed in areas around a classroom, building, or other locations.   A student can use the camera of their iPad, or iPhone by opening the camera and holding the lens over the QR code.  The  student will next be redirected to a site or to a link that when touched will open the website.  

Some ways to use QR codes could be to create a scavenger hunt, or connect students to a mystery writing prompt, or connect your students to a text message which might include instructions for their next task. QRCode.Kaywa.com allows users to add text.   

I hope this gives you enough information to start your QR code exploration.  If you have an interest and would like some assistance, feel free to give me a call and I can stop by to help you engage your students with QR codes.  Stay tuned as more tips and tricks related to QR codes and AR which will be included in the weeks ahead.

Seesaw is a tool that has the ability for a QR code to be generated in the software. Click here to see a tutorial that will show you how to do this.  This is a great feature to have students record themselves reading and then the  QR code can be generated and attached to the book so other students can open the QR code and read along with the recording. Click here to walk through step-by-step on how to do this.

Presentations are now being accepted in preparation for this summers R2R Technology Camp. Click here to get your presentation request completed.  April 19th is the deadline for presentation submissions.  For each workshop a presenter gives your name will go into a drawing to attend the PETE & C State Tech Conference to be held in Pittsburgh on February 23 through February 26, 2020.   Just in, this year's Keynote is going to be given by an Apple Presenter, Paul Takac.  Mark your calendars and plan to attend.

Thank you to Greg Weikert, Network Administrator for giving us this self-help tutorial.  If your MacBook is having issues grabbing the DHCP address use this tutorial to fix the issue.  If you have this issue occur you will know.  If your MacBook is not having any issues no then there is no need to worry about this tutorial at this time but this tutorial will be archived to help you if the DHCP issue occurs in the future.