QR Codes For the Classroom

You've seen these little black and white squares.  They're showing up everywhere!

Why not in the classroom???

Go to this website, QR Voice, and enter up to 100 characters of text.  Click on the little blue rectangle and viola...you get your own special little QR Code generated for you!

You can scan it with your SmartPhone and hear a playback of what you typed!!!

How cool is that?

You also get a web address you can copy to paste the code anywhere you like.  The address for the QR code above is http://my.qrvoice.net/rq01bE.

If you listen, it says to, "Remember to do your homework."

I can foresee e-mailing these to students and parents, posting them on a Facebook page or classroom blog, or...the sky is the limit!

Although I teach in a low-income setting, most parents and many student have SmartPhones...or easy access through another family member.  I do realize for some students this would not be a possibility.  

I'd love to come up with a creative way to use them IN the classroom itself.  I guess that would mean having my phone available to scan the images??  Not really sure about that part yet.

If you have an idea or have seen something in the past, PLEASE be sure to leave a comment and let us all know!!! 


Making It,

Winter Break Linky Party

Clutter-Free Classroom is hosting a How I Spent My Winter Vacation Linky Party! 


I'm in! 


 I spent time completing the decorating and shopping for Christmas.

I spent time with family.

I spent time cleaning up for the family to come over. 


I spent time cleaning up after the family left on 2 different occasions. 


I spent time reflecting on the year coming to a close and the new year heading my way. 


There was also time for relaxing, reading, crocheting, blogging (of course), and random other things. 


This time of the year always serves as a great time of reflection and rejuvenation...all at the same time for me! I'm ready to head back to school for a work day on Monday and take on the 2nd half of the school year! 


What did you do???  Join in and tell us! :)


Making It,

Out with the old...

As I'm typing this, there are less than 12 hours left in 2011!

Reflecting back on this year, what will I remember?  What had the most impact on me?

This year started out as a rough one, but thankfully ended on a much brighter note!  I had a tough, never-want-that-kind-of-year-again school year last year.  So bad, that I strongly considered quitting my job which I truly love!  I've managed to put most of that out of mind after spending my summer thinking, crying, praying, soul-searching...and forgiving those that hurt me.

Happily, this school year has been SO much better!  There are still tough days and difficult students, but we just have to take those in stride.  

I was asked to teach two new content areas this year which made me quite nervous in the beginning.  Now that I feel settled in, I am honestly enjoying it.  Math will always be my passion, but Science and Social Studies are fun to teach as well!  If anything, making me move from my comfort zone has made me a stronger person and a stronger teacher.  Challenge is always a good thing in my book!

In short, I am thankful for the year I had...both personally and professionally!  I mean, who wouldn't be thankful for the new blog world I've joined, the new friends I've made along the way, the new obsession I found called Pinterest, the new hobby I took up - crochet, and many, many other happy, feel-good things from the year!?!

I hope you have had at least a decent 2011 and I hope you have an outstanding 2012!

Until next year...

Making It,

Hey everybody!

Well...it has been a LONG time since I wrote a new blog post.  I'll go into more detail later, but in short, life sometimes throws a curve ball, and we have to catch it! 

I've been bobbling that ball for a few months and I think I've finally got a firm grip on it.

I've adopted a new blog name and updated the look quite a bit.  I hope you like it!

I'm here today to tell you about a wonderful opportunity!!

A blogging buddy started up a new linky party for those of us in the blog world who fall into the minority...Middle School and High School Bloggers. ;-)

Head on over to the Middle and High School New Year Blog Party at Secondary Solutions!  Kristen has listed several specific categories that you may fall into...and you can link up to as many as apply to your blog's topic.

One request is to mention another blog that would be of interest to my readers.  I happily pick Middle School Math Rules.  Be sure to check her out, too!

Kristen is an awesome sweet gal and she knows her stuff!  Head on over and show her and as many other blogs as you can possibly get to.  Let's all band together in 2012 and make our presence known {huge round of applause}!