Digital Replacements for your EZ Grader

Mission:

To find a digital replacement for that old EZ Grader of yours that is missing and/or falling apart.

Tech Edventure:

Quickgrade is an online version of the EZ grader that can be found by typing in quickgra.de into any browser. If you use Google Chrome, it is also available as a Google Chrome app that can be added to your Chrome browser.  

After accessing the site, you can type in the total amount of questions being graded and then check the box next to the "Show Quick Chart" button.

When grading something in class, I usually use the projector to show students the correct answers for grading purposes. Afterwards, I'll go to Quick Grade and zoom in on their possible scores so they are able to see the score overview as well.

Groovy Grader is a free app that can be found in the iTunes App Store.

To use this app,  move the slider to the desired amount of total questions and all possible scores are displayed.

Outcome:

Both of these are replacements that are free, easy to use and access, and portable.  They provide a more modern, digital solution to the problem of misplacing those old EZ graders.

Revolutionize Vocabulary Word Walls with QR Codes

Mission:

To create a more interactive and helpful word wall for my students.

Tech Edventure:

This past school year I decided to get a little more creative with my "Vocabulary Word of the Day Wall" that I have in my classroom. As I began to learn more and more about QR codes, I decided it was time to make these "words" more useful than ever.

Students always seem to forget some of our words and are clueless as to the definition.  Now using mobile devices with cameras and a QR Reader (which you can get them free in the iTunes App Store), students can easily scan the code and see the definition of the word.  They definitely prefer this to the old-fashioned way of taking out their notebook and looking up the definition.

I did this using the website QRstuff.com.  Below is a screenshot of what you will see. For the vocabulary words, I just found the definition, copied the URL and pasted it into the "2 Content" section directly below, then I clicked on the second option (Use our qrs.ly URL shortener), and then pressed the "Download QR Code" button on the right.

Once I downloaded all of the codes, I dragged them onto a document, spaced them out and printed.  Afterwards, I cut them out individually, rescanned using a QR reader on my iPod, and lightly wrote the vocabulary word on the back of the code.

After I glued each code to the correct word, I had a completely revolutionized word wall for my Vocabulary Words of the Day.

Outcome:

As my classroom gets more and more technology (such as iPods and IPods), I'm seeing how QR codes are becoming more and more useful.  Next year, I'm going to add QR codes that take students to Testmoz quizzes (click here to read my post on how to make those quizzes) for each 15 words we cover as a class.  I'm already envisioning a classroom with QR codes all over the place!

Blogging "Tech Edventures"

Mission:

To share the experiences of integrating technology into a classroom and to highlight technology integration specifics that works best. 

Tech Edventure:

There are many technology resources out there.   Richard Byrne's Free Technology for Teachers is one of the best sites, in my opinion.   I've been reading his site on my Google Reader feed for quite awhile now.  He has so many creative (not to mention, free) resources that are beneficial for teachers and students alike.  The key is trying out these resources and then deciding which work best in the classroom.

This site will show how we can best use all of this technology in our classrooms.  My personal goal is to utilize the technology integration resources and ideas that are already present and put them to work in my own classroom. By bringing these creative ideas into my classroom and using my own personal experience, I would like to be able to offer a first hand account as to which ideas and resources work best. 

Outcome:

This site will become a great source for teachers to see how to best integrate technology into their teaching, and have some fun with it as well.