QR Cubes

I stumbled upon the idea of QR cubes a while back and thought there were so many possibilities of how they could be used in the classroom, I just wanted to share. They are so simple to make and it is a great way to bring technology into the classroom. 

I have actually built quite a few now because they have been quite addicting. For example, I created one for writing prompts. The students would roll the cube and then with a QR Reader (I'll list some below) scan to see what prompt they would be writing about. Some other ideas you could make cubes for are:

• Content questions for review
• Warm up questions
• Wrap up questions
• Story elements that a student would have to identify after reading a story
• Quick Facts
• Rewards/Incentives
• Positive sayings
• Vocabulary
• As a way of grouping
• Math problems for students to solve

Here is a link to my Writing Prompt QR Cube if you would like a copy. All you would need to do is just print it out and assemble the cube!

Directions to make your own

If you would like to make one, I have detailed out the steps below. I suggest creating all of your QR codes first and saving them to your documents. My favorite QR generator is QR Stuff but you can use any QR generator you prefer to create them. I just love that QR Stuff allows you to change the color of the codes, whereas a lot of others only create in black.  

1. Go to QR Stuff and choose plain text for the data type.
2. Enter in your text you want the students to read when scanning.
3. Choose your preferred color.
4. Then under the preview box, click download QR code.
5. Choose the location where you would like to save it, name the file (for example my naming scheme usually is writing 1, writing 2, and so on because it'll make things easier later to locate and identify) and then of course save!
6. I repeat the first five steps until I have all six QR codes created for the cube's sides.
7. Next, open up the cube template. Click HERE if you would like to use the one like mine. However, any cube template will do. (For some reason they file looks blank on Google Docs until you download it but it's really there).
8. Now from the template (opens in Word), choose insert picture and navigate to your first QR code.
9. I simply resize and move the QR code to fit the template and continue the steps until all of my QR codes fit nicely on there.
10. I then save the file and print the QR cube file out on card stock. You can do it with plain paper but I find card stock holds up so much longer and it's easier to glue together.
11. Voila! You have your QR cube.

Also, here are a few QR reader apps I recommend. You can search for them on iTunes or Google Play for Android.

i-nigma

QR Droid

NeoReader

RedLaser

Please Vote for my LiveBinder as Top 10!

My Math Interactive LiveBinder has been nominated for Top 10. Please go vote for it by clicking below! It is #27 listed last. Also, be sure to check out my other LiveBinders for additional subjects. They are really useful, especially if you are looking for ways to be more interactive with your students.

http://www.livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=409361

If you are not familiar with LiveBinders, they are great resources to explore for classroom ideas for any subject and even professional development ideas. The site has thousands of binders for you to search from or you can even create one yourself to share. It's basically just a three-ring binder for the web. I love to use it to bookmark my favorite websites because I can access them from anywhere at anytime. Plus, I have the option to share it out or password protect it. When you get a chance, go explore the website. I always find lots of treasures there.

Animoto for End of the Year Slide Shows

Need an idea for putting together an end of the year slide show or presentation? Animoto is the way to go. I absolutely love using this site. All you would need to do is gather your favorite pictures or video clips and Animoto will do the rest. It gives you a professional looking slide show and you can set it to music by choosing from their own collection. Educators can also apply for a free Animoto Plus account (http://animoto.com/education) and create videos up to ten minutes in length. The free version account only allows you to create 30 second videos so I would highly recommend applying for an educator account.

You can choose a theme for your video style. Check out their sample videos for inspiration.

http://animoto.com/

You also have the option to choose your music, upload photos or video clips, add text, and arrange them in any order you would like. It really is such a simple, easy process.

Once the video is created, you can share with students and parents my email, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or upload it to YouTube. The videos look so professional and is such a great way to share memories of the past year. Also, be sure to check out the Animoto mobile app to create videos on the go.

I know a lot of you have already discovered the awesomeness of Animoto but for those few who still haven't yet, it's a must for checking out. 

Roy the Zebra

I came across Roy the Zebra a few months ago and thought it was a wonderful website to use with students to reinforce their reading skills. It has a lot of reading games that can be used on the interactive whiteboard or as an extension to support your reading lessons during computer time. 

www.roythezebra.com

Some of the skills Roy the Zebra reviews is alphabetical order, long vowel phonemes, words that rhyme, consonant blends, and high frequency words. A lot of the interactive games are free but the website does have a few that are paid. Of course, I only use the free interactive games because there are plenty of good free ones where it isn't necessary to purchase anything. It is still worth checking out because the games are user-friendly and the students will love them.

In the activity below, students help Wellington the turtle clean up the sea by matching the correct double consonant blend to the beginning of each word.

  

Roy the Zebra mainly focuses on high frequency words such as days of the week, months, and colors. Students can help Tom get ready for bed by clicking and dragging the days of the week in the correct order.

Students can choose rhyming words by hovering over the apples to reveal a word. If it rhymes with the given word, they can drag the word into Belinda's house.

PEEP and the Big Wide World

PEEP and the Big Wide World is a fun website for kids to explore math and science concepts. You can click on Games and interact with flash activities that target skills such as: patterns, natural cycles, counting, observation, sound, habitats, and much more! It is also a big plus if students are already familiar with PEEP; they will be engaged with PEEP's many games, activities, and videos.


http://www.peepandthebigwideworld.com/


Round and Round is a game where students can choose a plant or animal from the landscape and learn how its natural cycle grows and changes over time. Students then have the opportunity to place the missing cycle pieces in the correct order to see how the cycle begins and continues. I like that there is a narrator who explains each step in the cycle after it is complete.

I would also recommend checking out Music & Videos. There will be a list of This Week's Videos you can choose from, or you can see what will be playing next week. If you click on the closed captioning symbol (cc), you can have students read along while the video is playing. Great for emergent readers, ELL's, or just visual support.

To find other great math or science interactive sites, click on my LiveBinders on the right column. I have tons bookmarked! Also, if you have any great sites that you love to share please leave a comment and I'll add it to my list :)

Fuel the Brain

One thing I always loved about math is being able to use a lot of cool manipulatives with the students. However, that does not mean you have to literally drag out the materials every single time you introduce a math concept. There are a lot of great interactive math websites out there that engage students and compliment your lesson. Best of all, no clean up! Below I spotlighted a few interactive games from Fuel the Brain. Check out their website to explore more (http://www.fuelthebrain.com).

The Hungry Spider is great for primary grades. First, they pick their bug of choice and then they have fun collecting them. You can take turns as a whole group or have students practice on the computer while in centers. 

http://www.fuelthebrain.com/Interactives/app.php?ID=295



http://www.fuelthebrain.com/Interactives/app.php?ID=295



With Flash Interactive, base ten blocks or ten frames flash on the screen for a set time limit. The student then types in the number that was shown. The time decreases the more the student answers correctly and time increases with incorrect answers.  

http://www.fuelthebrain.com/Interactives/app.php?ID=29

http://www.fuelthebrain.com/Interactives/app.php?ID=29

I have to say Jelly Golf is by far the favorite of the interactive games. Students play 9 holes of fraction fun by holding and draging  the golf club to match the fraction given. Push swing and watch to see if you get a hole in one!

http://www.fuelthebrain.com/Game/play.php?ID=215

http://www.fuelthebrain.com/Game/play.php?ID=215

Random Name Pickers

Tired of pulling popsicle sticks to randomly choose students? Make it more exciting by using one of the random name pickers to select students. They are super easy to use! The first one is called The Hat and is a free software download that takes no time at all. Once it is downloaded, an icon of a hat will appear on your desktop. When you launch the program, all you have to do is click the green plus sign to add your students' names.

  

The Hat

http://www.harmonyhollow.net/hat.shtml

You then have the choice to pick individual names or pick pairs. I really like the idea of picking pairs because students never like who you pair them with anyways. Now you can tell them it was completely random :)

When you are ready, click on the hat icon in the toolbar and now you can begin randomly picking student names!

The other random name picker I like to use is on Classtools.net. It is internet based so if you don't like downloading you may prefer this one. Again, all you would need to do is add a list of your students' names. It can be copied and pasted from a word document or spreadsheet to make it easier.

Classtools.net

There are two different versions you can use for the random name picker. However, the Fruit Machine seems to be the most popular but it is still definitely worth it to try the Typewriter version out.