Scan by QR Code City + QR Codes

Scan by QR Code City + QR Codes

App Description:

This is an app for iPad, iPods, and smart phones that allows the user to utilize the built in camera as a scanner to read both QR codes and barcodes. You open the app, point at the code, and it will pull up the data you are trying to communicate.

Price:

Free

Website Component:

The app itself does not, but to build codes for use in the classroom, a website must be used. There are many, many free generator websites out there. But I use qrstuff.com with no problems. This website is also free.

Screenshots:

My Impression on What Parents Think:

I have not heard any feedback from parents either way.

Pros:

• I like being able to communicate data to my classroom parents such as my professional contact information, websites I am using, apps I’m using, and other pieces of data that are hard to communicate in other ways.
• The website and app are really user friendly.
• Both aspects are free to use and there are no limits as to how many codes you can create or scan.
• You can place QR codes on many different kinds of media. As QR codes are just pictures, they can be placed on my website, newsletters, and business cards to easily communicate. 

Cons:

• This is very new technology. I am unsure as to how many of my parents know how to use it.
• To read the codes I generate, parents must have the scanner app on their smart phones. If they do not have a scanner app or a smart phone, they will be unable to “read” the code.

Overall Impression:

As a tech savvy twenty-person, I am always looking for new ways to communicate with parents and make my job easier. As such, I am very comfortable using new technology even if it is a bit ahead of the curve. I have used this technology sparingly this school year simply because I do not know how comfortable my parents are in using it. However I hope that as this technology becomes more engrained in our day-to-day lives, I hope that my parents will become more comfortable using it. QR codes are already being used in ad campaigns and promotional materials so I want to use it to promote my classroom as well. Overall, I love using the website to create codes. Some websites will limit the number of codes you can create. All I have to do is fill in the information they require to make the code. Save the code, and then place it on the medium I need to communicate the data with. The scanner app is free and also easy to use. I love using the technology and cannot wait for it to be more readily usable by my parents. I might try hosting a technology seminar with my parents next year.

Review of Jooners.com

Jooners.com

App Description:

This is not an app per say. It is a website, and according to that website, “Any time you are organizing a group or planning an activity, consider using Jooners! 

On Jooners online sign up sheets you can list jobs, items and time slots for activities. Participants see what is available and what is taken and with a simple click can sign up for the slots that they want. Once signed up, participants are automatically reminded of their commitment and Jooners even creates personalized Thank You Notes on behalf of the event organizer.
Jooners online sign-up sheets help you and your participants get on the same page without a going through hundreds of back and forth emails.”

Price:

There is a basic membership option that is free and a premium membership, which is $5.95 per month. The main difference between the basic and premium memberships is that free users can only create five signups, signups cannot be downloaded to a program such as excel, your email will not notified when someone signups up, volunteers cannot change their commitment, and the users can see who signed up for what. I ultimately decided to go with a premium membership because I felt as though the $6.00 per month was worth the extra features.

Website Component:

There is only a website, but advertises that an app is coming soon.

Screenshots:

Every Field is customizable.

*This is the signup sheet from our Easter party as it would appear to a parent. As you can see, with the premium membership, everything is private.

My Impression of What Parents Think:

The first time I used this website was to help plan our Easter party. I sent the link out on a Wednesday, and the party was completely planned in two days. However, I got a lot of feedback saying that the website had glitches. And I mean a lot of glitches.

Pros:

• The biggest pro is the convenience factor. Before I found this kind of website, organizing class parties and parent-teacher was a nightmare. I would have to send out a list requesting items. Parents would send them back in. Then I would have to make the decision of who got which items. It would make for some very angry mamas because there is really no fair way to decide.
• The website is user friendly and reminds me of creating a spreadsheet in Excel. Every field is customizable.
• You have the option of signing up people on the administrator’s page.
• It can be password protected.
• The support team on Facebook is very quick to respond to questions and help fix any bugs if they can.

Cons:

• This website is incredibly glitchy. I never had problems in the actual creating a signup sheet. However, I got a lot of emails from parents saying that no matter how many times they tried or computer they used, the sign up sheet would not load. It doesn’t matter how easy it is to create a sheet if no one can open it. I had similar problems on my own computer.
• There is no database for parents to search for the signup sheets, meaning you must email or use QR codes to get the word out. This was a problem for the parents that didn't have email.

Overall Impression:

Overall, I love the idea of this website. I initially used it to plan a class party when I was out sick. I realized that the party was only a week away, I was out with the flu, and I needed to get the party planned. Since I wasn’t physically at school, I wasn’t able to send out the notes I usually do. So I emailed out the signup sheet. Some parents were able to sign up no problem, the rest emailed me saying the website wouldn’t load so I had to manually sign them up myself. It is very user friendly and I love that is so much like Excel. However, it doesn’t matter how user friendly the website is, if it does not work the way it was intended. Ultimately, I abandoned this website in favor of another that is very similar in purpose. It was disappointing this one didn’t work as it was more user friendly than the website I switched over to. Maybe the website will work itself out with time.

Pre-K Letters and Numbers Pro by BrightStart

Pre-K Letters and Numbers Pro by BrightStart

App Description:

From the App Store, “Pre-K Letters and Numbers Pro for Teachers is the third of a series of tracing applications aimed at kindergarten kids who are just setting out to build a foundation of the English language and numeracy, develop fine motor skills, understand phonics and build their vocabulary with the bonus of blending common letters and counting. Our unique characters, music, sounds and over 75 fruit, vegetable, animal and items around the house illustrations help with the learning experience. Elel, Momo, Lili and friends guide the child through the letters, numbers and phonics experience with clear instructions, applause for success and "Oops" for mistakes. “

Price:

There is a free version, but we use the pro version in my classroom, which costs $1.99.

Website Component:

There is a website component, but I have never used it.

Screenshots of the App:

Feedback from Parents:

As I purchase apps, I update a list on my website thereby making them available to my parents. Several parents have bought the free version of it and loved it.

Pros:

• My kiddos in the classroom love to play with this app during our centertime, and they are learning at the same time.
• This saves me the hassle of running page after page of worksheets, which the kiddos hated anyway. This is quality, guided practice without all of the paper.
• It teaches the proper way to make letters and numbers. With the paper method, students could trace letters in any fashion they wanted. With this app, they have to make the strokes correctly.
• I was able to set up a profile for each student in my class. It creates a report that checks accuracy. This has been helpful in preparing portfolios for students.

Cons:

• It can get monotonous, and some students with short attention spans request to get off of the app in favor of something flasher.

Overall Impression:

This is a great little app. I have found that while some students hate to use traditional paper-pencil method to trace letters, the kids love to use the iPad. It isn’t the flashiest app we have, but it is the most educational with fun mixed in. I have seen improvement in both letter and number recall and writing performance. It has also translated over to the paper-pencil method. I love that I can turn students loose on the app and they are getting quality practice in on a vitally important skill. Personally, I love this app for use with my pre-kinders.

Remind101

Remind101

App Description: This app is one that I use at least once a week with my parents to enhance teacher-parent communication. Teachers signup for a free account on the website remind101.com. Teachers are able to signup for ten unique classes. The website generates a code for each class which is given to parents for them to use to text or email for the teacher’s updates. The website will also generate a flyer to pass out to parents. There is also an app that complements the website that makes texting my parents even easier. I have the app on my smart phone, and when I need to send a reminder, all I have to do is text and send.

Price: Both the web account and app are free to use.

Website Component: Yes

Screenshots of the App:

My Impression on What Parents Think: I have only heard wonderful things about using this in my classroom. There are twenty-two families in my classroom, and fifteen of them have signed up to receive the reminders. It works great for my classroom.

Pros:

• My favorite aspect of this app is that it keeps a running record of all of the reminders I have sent on the website. If there is any question of a reminder, I have a list of everything I sent and a timestamp.
• Another awesome feature is that it is completely private. My personal phone number is never released nor to do have access to participants’ personal phone numbers. I think this could be a great feature if the teacher were in high school and wanted to text students directly. Obviously as a teacher of pre-kindergarten, I don’t have this issue but it could be a wonderful feature for teachers of high schoolers or middle schoolers to protect privacy.
• The set up feature was incredibly easy. Not only was it a few simple clicks to create a class, all I had to do was print off a flyer created by remind101 and pass out to parents at the beginning of the year. 
• Teachers can have up to ten classes set up for free. This would be helpful if teachers have more than one class per day.
• Parents can sign up to receive text messages and email messages of my updates.

• There is also a schedule for later option. If I need to send an early morning email or if there is an ongoing message, I can set them up and select a send later option. I used this as most recently when we had a week of dress up dates that occurred everyday.
• It is so incredibly easy. All I have to do is type up a reminder and send it out.

Cons:

• It is completely the responsibility of the parents of sign up.
• It is completely free for parents to use as well as long as they have a texting plan on their phone. If they do not have a text message aspect of their contract, standard messaging rates would apply.
• You are only able to text/email the group. There are times I wish I could text/email specific families, but that is not an option with either the website or the app.
• I have had one parent express that they have wanted to text me a question, but since it is not my actual phone number, that is not possible.

Overall Impression:

I cannot say enough positive things about this app. My first year of teaching, it was difficult to communicate with everyone. But everyone seems to have texting on their phones, while not everyone remembers to check folders. I have used it to remind about field trips, parties, t-shirt orders, and get information out quickly. I would definitely recommend it for classroom use.

Introductions

I started this blog to share the technology I currently use in my classroom.  I am a second year pre-kindergarten teacher working in the state of Georgia. I love my job, but I believe in working smarter, not harder! I work in a two iPad classroom- with twenty-two kiddos, one teaching assistant, and myself all sharing. We’ve had to be creative to make it work, but the iPad is a Godsend. It has made my life so much easier!

The biggest problem I have encountered with the iPads is that in depth reviews for teachers using them in actual classrooms are few and far between. When I have to purchase an app, I want to know that it is going to work as it is intended. I view both the iPads and app purchases as investments and that is not something I take lightly. So I decided to start this blog to share everything I’ve found out throughout this year and hopefully will continue to find new amazing things to share with you all.

For me this is not about quantity, but about finding quality apps and technology that can work in actual classrooms. I am working on my first set of reviews for publication soon! Stay tuned.