Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Did Web 2.0 turn into Web 3.0 and nobody told me? I feel like I'm in a technology marathon racing toward the finish line of my technology course. Of course there is no finish line … technology will just keep evolving. So why fight it?

Source: theguardian.com

When I first started this course just seven weeks ago, I couldn't even imagine what “integrating technology into the curriculum” could possibly mean. Suffice it to say, I am now enlightened to the fact that technology does indeed have a place in the classroom. First and foremost, however, the question must always be asked - what is the learning goal at hand and will this technology tool help. 

After learning about QR Codes, Glogster, Tagxedo, ThingLink, YouTube, Blabberize, BibMe, Curriculet, and Prezi, to name a few, I can see how today’s learner would embrace these tools. A field-test validated my opinion on this. Perhaps it's to be expected that digital tools, in general, appeal to the digital generation of learners. Some of these tools seem to be geared more toward helping the teacher organize and share content, but they also serve to engage the students. A short list is Popplet, Polleverywhere, Wikispaces, and Prezi.

Source:haydenwilcox.edublogs.org

I also found there is an opportunity to use technology when differentiating learning. This is especially important for students with learning disabilities and other special needs. For example, if a student struggles with handwriting and copying notes, it would make sense to provide the opportunity to do this on a laptop. If students are reluctant to write down assignments in their planner or notebook, the assignment can be posted via a QR code. The student scans it, and it will be on their phone. It really surprised me how easy creating a QR code is. Before this class I saw them as mysterious secret messages created by a large corporations, something akin to a UPC code.

I have a list of no less than 30 technologies we covered in the past seven weeks. Many of these technologies were the subject of my blog, or I used them to create this blog. Since I have a professional web site now (smile) I can point you in the direction of the Cool Tools tab if you want to check some of these out for yourself. 

There's a saying, "Take what you like, and leave the rest." How do you know what you like if you don't keep an open mind and consider the possibilities?

Tech-Tac-Toe ... QR Codes

I wanted to try a technology tool that would engage students in a high school Academic Literacy class especially when they become "zoned out". Since scanning a QR (quick response) code requires a smart phone, this has an immediate hook for today's student.

When I "field tested" this exercise to help learn vocabulary words the response was all positive. "Cool!" "I would totally use that!"

The homework assignment was uploaded using another Web 2.0 tool, Scribd. It can be found at http://www.scribd.com/upload-document#  It's great for embedding a Word document in a web page, such as this blog.
For the above assignment, I used an existing homework assignment, and modified it to include QR codes. Using QR codes is not difficult, but it is somewhat of a tedious task depending on how many codes are needed. I used www.qrstuff.com to generate the QR codes by simply typing in the vocabulary word and definition. One click, and the QR code appeared. Since I had 10 vocabulary words, I figured out a naming convention right away in order to get the right code with the right word. I copied and pasted the codes on the above Word document, and resized the codes to save space.

QR codes can be read from paper or on a computer screen. Once scanned, the content can be saved by the student any number of ways for future reference. The best thing about the tool is that students like it and therefore will engage with the learning content associated with it.