QR Voice

Sunday Sit, Sip, and “Sync” ~ 12-7-2014

QR Voice (qrvoice.net) is a little web-tool that will convert 100 characters into a digital synthesized voice file.
The file is encoded into a QR code that can be resized, copied, and used to link back to the message.

The website has several language options:

The FAQ page will help with any questions you might have, and the authors definitely have a sense of humor…

How does QR Voice work? From the FAQ page, the steps are very simple:

1.   Enter a message up to 100 characters.
2.   Optionally choose a language in which the message is written, and it will be reproduced.
3.   Optionally resize the desired qr-code image to be generated using the slider.
4.   Click the “Generate Button”, (the one with a tiny qr-code in it).
5.   The qr-code will be generated in the center of the screen.
6.   You can scan it with your smartphone qr-code scanner app to hear the message.
7.    Also, use the link above the qr-code image to save/share/embed/print the final qr-code image.
8.   Use the social buttons to spread the word about your recent generated qr-voice.
The browser URL location is also bookmark-able.

As educators, our imaginations and creativity have no boundary in creating ways to use these little web-tools like QR Voice.
Don’t hesitate to share.
For more information, visit the QR Voice “Help Page” where all of you questions are sure to be answered.

One more thing.
Hover your mouse over the little blue “speech bubble” QR Code in the upper right-hand corner.
Just a little “fun” animation.
It’s a “smile generator”…

[Tweet “Learn how “QR Voice” works to change a given text message into a synthesized voice message…”]

audioBoom with a Big Boom

by recesstec iPad News tips

Sunday Sit, Sip, and “Sync” ~ 10-12-2014

Yes. That is not a “typo”.
If you have an “Audioboo” account, as of this past September,
they have a new name
and a new look.
No worries.
When you log in, you will find your “boo’s” still online and enough changes that you won’t be disappointed.
You still get ten free minutes of audio with each recording,
and you can share them with a QR code, image, and a shortened URL link that links to each of your audio files.

Check out the page specifically for “Educators”.
There you will find examples of audioBoom in the classroom with the message that you can give your students a “voice”.
In addition, you will find podcast resources and professional development tutorials.
When you visit the link for “widgets”, you will find embed codes for your audio posts with design choices to fit your website or blog.

Finally, there’s an app for that.
Free.
Download the app, allow access to your device microphone, and you will have the easiest way to create an audio file.
We hope you will experiment with this site and give your students a voice.
[Tweet “Audioboo has added an “m” to its name and a new look…”]

Spell Up

by recesstec app iPad tips

Sunday Sit, Sip, and “Sync” ~ 10-5-2014

Last spring, Google released a new app and a Chrome web-based game that plays like a “personal spelling-bee”. Using voice recognition, it provides several ways that will help you build a tower of correctly spelled words. I played with this app on Friday night. (I know. No life.) It has a few hiccups in terms of recognizing my responses, but I really think our students will find it fun and won’t be put off by this at all. Make sure that you turn up the sound in your “Audio Mixer” specifically for this game.

It is also a Chrome app, available for download here.

It works well on iPads and other ISO devices when you access the website in your Safari app.
The only difference is that you need to spell each word on a keyboard.

Give it a try, but don’t get “hooked”.
Your kiddos are sure to enjoy it, too!

[Tweet “Google releases “Spell Up”, your personal spelling bee in a game format.”]

TEACHERS pay TEACHERS

by recesstec classroom management tips

Sunday Sit, Sip, and “Sync” ~ 7-28-2013

“Life’s too short to hang out with people who aren’t resourceful.”
~Jeff Bezos

TEACHERS pay TEACHERS is “an open marketplace for educators where teachers buy, sell and share original teaching resources.”

Here you can find lessons across all curricula for all grade levels for all learning levels that are created by teachers.

It includes several sorting options that cover all of these groupings, including a page that allows you to browse through FREE downloads.

Membership as a buyer and a seller is free and it does not require a school email to sign up.

One of the free offers is from Morgan Walker in Lebanon, Indiana. From Morgan is a free Word document that lists and describes “Technology in the Common Core Standards (grades 1-8)”.

We suggest you visit TEACHERS pay TEACHERS, check out the talented teachers that contribute, and take a look at their lessons. We are sure you will find a wealth of resources, and who wouldn’t want to buy direct from a teacher and bypass the publishers.

To view the categories offered by TEACHERS pay TEACHERS,
just click on the image below to enlarge it.
Hopefully your day will be filled with sunshine much like our forecast.
Take time to fill the rest of the day with things that make you happy…

We Appreciate…

by recesstec tips

Sunday Sit, Sip, and “Sync” ~ 5-6-2012

…you.

Is it a coincidence that “Teacher Appreciation Week” appears on our calendars just as we begin the “countdown” to get us through the last frenetic days of May?

I think not.

Rather than a “tip” this morning,
I thought I would share a site, sites that are offering “freebies” to show their appreciation.

I’m postponing my “traditional” tip to get the word out,
so you don’t miss this chance to add to your resources,
if not for this year,
as something to place in a folder for summer planning for next year.

I found this through a suggested link for a free “persuasive letter writing unit” offered by The Wise Guys.

Investigating further,
I discovered a “Blog Hop” for all levels that are participating in a
“Teacher Appreciation Jackpot”.

So…

I invite you to click on each image to search through the sites that are linked on the bottom of each page,

and “hop the blogs” that are participating to let you know that you, Dear Reader, are appreciated.

GradeCam

by recesstec classroom management

Sunday Sit, Sip, and “Sync” ~ 2-19-2012

Sometimes you want and need a multiple-choice assessment.

Without discussing the merits of grading, or not grading student work,
most of us can agree that at some point, our students need to practice using multiple-choice assessment forms.

I can’t tell you how many times a student has come up to my desk to ask me what “All of the above” meant.

In a perfect world teachers could teach, students would learn, and it will all be done without hours of grading.

As a student, I can remember, after days of hard work, turning in a paper and enduring the long wait to receive the results.

As a teacher, I can’t deny that grading the little multiple-choice assessment was a lot easier to endure than the 5-paragraph essay.

Just sayin’…

One of the benefits of the multiple-choice is the quick feed-back.

If you have a document camera, that feed-back just got quicker.

GradeCam is a website that will provide even faster results, and is easy to use.
Although there is a package that costs, they do have a free option that includes:

quizzes with ten multiple-choice questions,
instant item analysis, and
class reports.

GradeCam’s “Home Page” includes a little video to help explain its merits,
but I’ve also embedded another video that will help you understand how teachers are using this program.

The plug-in is free to download, and creating an account is quick, easy, and free.

This page includes a confirmed/compatible list of cameras that work with this program.

We would love to read in the comments, how you use this program, how it works for you, and whether or not you would recommend it.

It’s No Picnic…

by recesstec Photography tips

Sunday Sit, Sip, and “Sync” ~ 1-22-2012

My Sunday Morning Tip took a 180˚ when I opened up my email this morning.

One of my favorite “fun” online photo editing sites will soon be gone.

Picnik.com is the only website I love to watch as it loads.
While the gears turn and synch together,
I look forward to the random messages that create imaginary images that are both powerful and pleasant.

“Fluffing clouds…”
“Blooming blossoms…”
“Picking blackberries…”
“Stealing Picnik basket…”
“Planting trees…”
“Floating kites…”
“Cueing bird songs…”
“Applying sunscreen…”
“Buttering sandwiches…”
“Growing grass…”
“Painting sky…”
“Chasing butterflies…”
“Spreading blanket…”
“Picking flowers…”

Once loaded, Picnik offers a wide menu of options, even without a paid subscription.

The sad news is that on April 19^th, 2012, Picnik will be closing.

And that is, indeed, sad.

The good news is, that until that date, ALL of the “Paid Premium” effects and features are available FREE to ALL visitors.

(You know how we love “free”.)

If you have a paid subscription, they will refund this past year’s payment,
“even if you are on your very last day of an annual membership”.

Picnik has added a feature, Picnik Takeout, which “allows you to download your photos to your desktop in convenient zip files”.

There is no limit to how many times you use this feature until closing day.

If you post your pictures on Flickr,
and use Picnik to edit them,
that service will no longer be an option when Picnik closes,
but…

Flickr has announced an upcoming set of editing tools within their site,
and in their words:

“…we are working on making the editing experience even better on the site.
We know you care about speed, simplicity, and quality
and this is exactly what we are working to provide you with.
More on this soon, but we can’t wait to show you what we have in store.”

Questions?
Visit Picnik’s FAQ Page here.

Ready to take advantage of this 3-month service?
Visit Picnik…

and watch the clouds fluff and the grass grow for an early, much needed spring…

“Stitch It”

by recesstec Holiday iPad2 Photography tips

Sunday Sit, Sip, and “Sync” ~ 11-27-2011

It’s time to share all of the hard work and creativity you put into that decorating!

We’ve found a fun and free way to do that.

Hurry over to “Photosynth” and download this app to your iPhone, iPod Touch, or your iPad2.

I downloaded it as soon as I bought my iPad2, and drove to our cabin to take a spring panorama shot of our lake. I could not believe how EASY it was!

Before this app, I used Photoshop to stitch together my photos, and was amazed at how much easier Photosynth was! It even takes the pictures for you! The more images you stitch together in your panorama, the better your final image is. It not only captures the scene in 360˚ view, but up and down, as well.

(Photoshop: Now THAT is a program that should generate a two-year degree. I need to add that to my “bucket list” of goals to achieve. What a powerful, but oh-so-overwhelming list of options for one program! However, I can remove stains, wrinkles, “face-shine” and “red-eye” in my photos like nobody’s business.)

If you find Photosynth is “just right” for you,
we would love to see you share your shots on Facebook with us!

It’s time to “show-off”!

Don’t hold back!

We would love to see your classroom, your home, your porch, or whatever you wish to share!

Just send us your link or email your panorama images and we’ll post them in our gallery.

Upper Math? Yup!

by recesstec Math tips

Sunday Sit, Sip, and “Sync” ~ 11-6-2011

How much can I say about this calculator?

#1. It’s free.

#2. It “graphs”.

#3. It’s “online”.

Now I can’t vouch for much more since I belong to the generation where mostly boys took the advanced math classes and carried around slide rules in their back pockets.

I only made it through Geometry, Advanced Geometry*, and Algebra I and II.

Sad, but true.

(The exception was my younger sister who was the smartest person I knew next to my father…
Both of them were left-handed which leads me to believe that left-handed children are most certainly exceptional.)

Shannon, however, took accelerated math classes, and taught upper math.

She assures me this site is worth sharing.

Click here to visit https://www.desmos.com/calculator/

*Note: I loved Geometry; it was like drawing.

Contain Yourself

by recesstec tips

Sunday Sit, Sip, and “Sync” ~ 10-23-2011

We’ve been using a free down-loadable program from www.stardock.com called “Fences”.

If your desktop looks like a teachers’ lounge refrigerator in May*,

“Fences” might be something you can use.

At least when your I.T. does a remote to fix a computer problem,

you won’t feel like apologizing for all of the desktop icons.

Neat.

And we’ve seen it used on several I.T. personal computers, too.

Check out the video,

and visit this link to download this little program and clean up your desktop.

In no time, at all, your desktop will look like this.

Then, take a break, unplug, and promise yourself a little “outside time” to give yourself some fresh air before your weekend ends.

Have a great week…

*(Full of “stuff”.)

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