Engaging Tech Tools for 21st Century Learners: QR codes

Showing posts with label QR codes. Show all posts

Recordmp3.org to Create Your Own Audio Books

http://www.recordmp3.org/

Many teachers have asked me for a way to create audio recordings of books from their classroom library so that students can listen as they follow along with the book. RecordMP3.org is an easy (and free!) way to do just that!

Go to http://www.recordmp3.org/
If it’s the first time you’ve visited this website, you’ll get a notification about allowing access to your microphone. Click “OK, got it” and then choose Allow and Remember and click Close.
Click “OK, I did it.”
Click Record to start recording. You might get a yellow bar across the top of the window asking you again to allow microphone access. Choose to allow.
Click Stop when you’re finished reading.
Click Play to listen back.
Click Start Over to re-record or click Save Recording.
Copy the URL.
Go to http://goqr.me (or your favorite QR generator) to create the QR code. Print out the QR code and tape into the book in your classroom library.

NOTE: Be sure to follow copyright laws. These audio recordings should not be shared or posted anywhere for students to access without your physical copy of the book.

Looking for a way for students using Mac laptops to scan QR codes? QR Journal is a great free option.

To install QR Journal:
1. On a Mac, go to the Applications folder and choose App Store.
2. Do a search for QR Journal. (or use this link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/qr-journal/id483820530?mt=12)
3. "Buy" the app using your AppleID.

Once it’s installed, open the app from your Applications folder. You'll see a button that says “Scan”. That opens a window that is using the laptop's built in webcam. Hold the QR code in front of the camera and it will scan the code. Super easy!

Tip: To make any Mac app easy to access, you can choose to keep it in the dock even when it's not open. Just right-click on the app icon in the dock (when the app is open) and choose "Options" and "Keep in Dock".

http://www.vocaroo.com

Vocaroo is a super easy way to record and share audio files. Since the recording feature is flash based, you can only record via a web browser on any computer with a microphone. You can't record on an iPad. However, playback of the audio files will work on the web and on iDevices like iPads, iPods or iPhones.

To record a file, simply click the "Click to Record" button. (Click "Allow" on the message that pops up.) Once you've recorded, click "Listen" to preview your recording. You can click "Retry" to start over. If you like your recording, click the "Click here to save" link.

You will be presented with several sharing options. You can email, embed into a blog or webpage, download as an MP3, etc. My favorite is the QR code link to automatically generate a QR Code straight to the audio file! This would be great for an Open House project. Parents can scan the code to listen and use the link to download the MP3 file to their computer when they get home.

There is no set time frame for audio recordings to be stored on the site and no limit to how long messages can be. For more information see the "Help" link at the bottom of the page for FAQs.

What ideas do you have for using Vocaroo in your classroom? Post a comment below to share your thoughts!

Goo.gl - URL Shortener and QR Creator

Looking for an easy way to share long URLs with students? Try http://goo.gl.

So why should you try Google URL Shortener instead of any of the other URL shorteners like Tiny URL? When you login with your Google ID, Google URL Shortener actually becomes a 2 in 1 tool. It shortens your URL and creates a QR code all in one step!

How to use:

Go to http://goo.gl.
Login to your Google account.
Paste a URL into the box and click SHORTEN URL.
Your URL will be shortened into a "goo.gl/____" address on the right hand side of the screen.
Click DETAILS below the shortened URL to view the QR code. The code can be copied/pasted to a document or saved with a right-click.
All URLs that you've shortened will be tracked in your main list so you can always go back to access the code.

Want to learn more about QR codes in the classroom? Check out our QR code blog post here: http://gcisdleadwithtechnology.blogspot.com/2012/02/qr-codes.html

Want to make QR codes to your students' online projects but the thought of doing them one by one is scaring you away? Have no fear! The amazing Tammy Worcester has designed a Google Spreadsheet template that will automatically create QR codes for you! Just paste in the desired URLs and let the spreadsheet do the work.

To access the template, go to https://docs.google.com and login with your Google account (you can create one for free if you don't already have one.) Click CREATE and FROM TEMPLATE. Search the templates for QR and choose "QR Code Auto Generator Template".

Then just follow the directions on the spreadsheet to create and print your codes!

UPDATE: If you have a problem printing your codes, try going to FILE and DOWNLOAD AS HTML. Then you should be able to print from the HTML.

For more information and specific instructions, go to Tammy's blog.
http://www.tammyworcester.com/TipOfWeek/TammyWTechTipOfWeek/Entries/2012/1/24_Tip_110_-_Auto_Generate_QR_Codes_in_Google_Spreadsheet%21.html

QR codes. They're everywhere... in magazines and newspapers, stores and restaurants. So what are they and how can you use them in your classroom?

What are they?
A QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response code) is a two-dimensional barcode that is most commonly encoded with text or a web URL. The code usually consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background.

For more information about QR codes, check out the Common Craft video here: http://www.commoncraft.com/video/qr-codes

How it Works:
Step 1- Create the Code:

Go to http://goqr.me/ (Other options are http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ or http://www.qrstuff.com/ )
To create a code to text, click the TEXT tab and type or paste in your text.
To create a code to a website, click the URL tab and type or paste in the website URL.
The code will automatically be created on the right. Click the OPEN button.
Your QR code will open in a separate window. You have 2 options:

To print the QR code: Click FILE and PRINT.
To save the QR code as a picture file to add to worksheets, blogs, wikis, web pages, etc.: Right click the code and choose SAVE PICTURE AS.

Step 2- Use the Code:
The end-user scans the code with a device (smart phone, iTouch, iPad, laptop with web cam, etc.) that has camera capabilities and a QR reader app. Some recommended apps are: