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goo.gl - Google's URL Shortener... & QR Code Creator...

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Google has released goo.gl , a URL shortener that not only will shorten a web address, but also generates QR Codes for each address. (QR codes are  "a matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by QR scanners, mobile phones with acamera, and smartphones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data..." )

These codes can be read using software on your smartphone to provide more information regarding a location or links to further information. For example in the image below you see a flyer we have created to advertise our upcoming Walk and Bike Day at Lewis Elementary. Using the Google URL shortener I created a short link to our Walk and Bike web page and included the QR Code generated by goo.gl in the flyer. 

Using the camera and software on a smartphone, a person could use the code to quickly get to our web page and get more information about the event. I think next I'll follow Ryan Bretag's suggestion and place QR codes around my school at various points of interest. Would be a nice project for some of our older students...

Mr. Post's Class in the garden...

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This afternoon I was visiting Mrs. Wieand's classroom and out the window say that Mr. Post had taken his students out to the garden. They were picking beans. The garden at Lewis is something we are very proud of. It extends the classroom and offers our students, and teachers, an opportunity to expand on what it means to study. Outdoor spaces are learning spaces. They allow us to think about school in a different way.  

Friday in the School Garden

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At my school, Lewis Elementary, we are fortunate to have a great garden space adjacent to our school. All of our students spend time working in the garden at least two times a month. In addition to garden lessons, teachers also use the space as an outdoor classroom. Friday afternoon was a beautiful early fall day and I observed two classrooms taking advantage of the nice weather by visiting the school garden. Ms. Swan's brought her students out to spend some time and to also release some butterflies. Mrs. Logue's students took advantage of the garden and looked for insects and noted the different vegetables growing there. They then spent some time writing about their experience in their journals. Our garden space also includes an outdoor classroom pavilion, a tool shed, two cob benches, apple trees, and our compost bins. In an upcoming post I'll share more about these spaces and how we use them in our garden program...

A Visit to the Pacific University Early Learning Center

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On Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010 I visited Pacific University to give a talk to pre-service teachers. The talk was part of the OTEN Conference. Afterward, Dr. Mark Bailey gave me a tour of their early learning center. The Center takes up the bottom floor of Berglund Hall, a LEED Gold Certified building that also houses Pacific's education department. The center was designed from scratch to be a child centered facility that incorporates several program elements, including an outdoor space they call The Piazza. The Piazza has several garden areas including an area where fruits and vegetables grow. Mark also shared with me that each of the teachers keeps a daily blog where they document the work that the children do. The blog content is generated by the students and also recorded on a large whiteboard that is posted in the lobby at the end of the day. The blog and the whiteboard content provide parents with a frame of reference to talk with their child about the days events. Much more than just asking "What did you do in school today?"

I walked away from my visit very impressed. It is a fantastic environment and I walked away with several good ideas to take back to my school. Below are a few images from my visit.