TCEA - Day 2

Good Evening!  The second day of the conference included workshops, some networking, and some group planning among the SWISD Team.

I attended a workshop titled "QR Qrazy" which was led by Anna Adams and Helen Mowers, collectively known as the "Tech Chicks (@BetterAnnaMac, and @techchick94 on Twitter)."
They talked about some really great uses for QR codes in the classroom.  Here are some of the things they discussed:

• Putting QR codes on the inside covers of classroom books to link to online resources that support each book's topic.
• Have students create QR codes when they come across vocabulary in their classwork.
• Have older students read text from books and upload content that younger students can access to assist their reading.
• On curricular worksheets, have students create QR codes that link to uploaded tutorials created that demonstrate those specific concepts.

I also attended a workshop on creating iPhone apps without coding (writing programming code).  This was especially interesting to me, since creating apps for our district iPads and iPods has been a personal project of mine for a couple of years, and it was good to be able to get some help from someone who has used the software extensively. 

In order to write programs for iOS devices or for the Mac, you are required to use a program called XCode.  This is a really involved program that lets you write, test, and even submit apps to the Apple App Store.

We are all looking forward to tomorrow, because the exhibit hall finally opens.  This is where vendors will be showcasing their new products and services.

Please follow all of us on our blogs:

• http://swisddigitalespresso.blogspot.com
• http://itechnitude.blogspot.com
• http://dragontechcafecito.blogspot.com
• http://techtasticadventures.blogspot.com/

Also, follow us on Twitter - @madd4cache, @dalelockett, @zorroeac, and @dbarcenez.