Use QR codes to share documents with TagMyDoc

The invasion of QR codes continues.  I went to the movies recently and was attacked by those little square images. They were in the lobby, on the popcorn box, on my soda cup and even on the movie screen during the previews.  QR codes are like UPC codes that grocery stores use except they can be used to communicate all sorts of information.  QR codes can to link to websites, videos and online surveys, which makes them really popular commercially.  Look around and it seems that everyone is getting into the QR code business.

For regular readers of the 8 Blog, you may remember that I discussed how to create QR codes a few months ago and provided some ideas for using QR codes educationally.  With TagMyDoc, however, QR codes are now even more useful.  TagMyDoc allows users to add QR codes to a document which can redirect others to a digital copy of the document online.  Imagine including QR codes on your handouts.  A student who loses a copy can simply scan the QR code from a classmate and she can download a digital copy for herself.  TagMyDoc can also be used with conference presentations.  Instead of emailing Powerpoint slides  to interested attendees, include a QR code into the final slide of your presentation and let people download copies themselves.

While the site is in Beta development, TagMyDoc still offers a great deal of functionality at this time.  Signing up for a free Basic account gives users 1 GB of space to upload their documents and unlimited scanning of documents.  This means that once a document is saved onto TagMyDoc, an unlimited number of people can scan the QR code and download the associated file.    Another benefit is that the site can handle a variety of file types, allowing users to share their digital images (jpg, tiff, png, bmp or gif) or their documents (doc, docx, ppt, pptx or pdf). securely.

By uploading files to TagMyDoc, educators can help support environmentally responsible actions by replacing paper copies with digital ones.  TagMyDoc also allows educators to provide resources for students using mobile devices.  There are TagMyDoc apps in development for iOS and Android devices and Add-ins for Microsoft Word and Powerpoint are also being planned.   The site can also act as cloud storage for educators who may not have access to similar services in their schools.  Whether you plan to use TagMyDoc or QR codes in your classroom, get used to seeing the little square monsters around.  The invasion is almost complete.

Collaborate on documents with Crocodoc

Sometimes, sharing and collaborating on documents can be a real challenge.  If I want to share a document with someone, I have to make sure they’re using a word processing application that can open and edit my document.   I also have to make sure that my document doesn’t get lost in their email inbox or caught in their spam filter.  If I’m sharing the document with a group of people, the collaboration problems multiply.  Who has the latest version?  Who has contributed so far? How can I coordinate all of the individual comments and suggestions efficiently?  It can be a real headache.

Crocodoc was built to alleviate some of these collaboration challenges, diminishing the need to email attachments back and forth, print and pass around hard copies, or install expensive collaboration software.  With Crocodoc, users can upload PDFs, Word documents, and PowerPoint presentations and view and mark them up online. Documents can be shared with others, who can collaboratively highlight or strikeout text, add notes and comments, and make revisions. All files are stored securely on the Crocodoc servers, and can be password protected and encrypted for maximum security.  Crocodoc even works with iPads, allowing people to collaborate on documents from a variety of platforms.

Used educationally, Crocodoc can allow groups of students to share their comments on an article they’re reading.  Art educators can upload a photograph for discussion and assign their students to share their critiques.    In a writing class, groups of students could edit one another’s compositions and provide feedback to each other.  Since Crocodoc records the history of each document, educators can see who has contributed so far, which can be really helpful for assessing student work.  With its intuitive navigation, Crocodoc really takes a bite out of the challenges of collaboration.

Remembering our most important mission: Keeping children safe!

For those of you who might not know, I’m a proud Penn State alumnus. Recent allegations of sexual abuse at my alma mater has really shaken me to my core.  As more information came to light last week, my initial feelings of disbelief evolved into complete anger and then lastly into utter sadness.  While I am still struggling with these intense emotions, I feel like I need to do something to channel my anger and sadness for something productive and educational.  The courts will ultimately decide the guilt and innocence for those involved but I think one observation is clear from the information released so far: more could have been done to protect the victims.  This week, rather than feature some innovative instructional tool, I’m going to highlight a few online resources for keeping students safe.  As educators, I believe that’s our most critical mission.

Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW)

Coordinated by the US Department of Justice, this website contains a searchable database for registered sex offenders across the country.  Following Megan’s Law, people convicted of sex crimes against children are required to notify local law enforcement of any change of address or employment after release from custody.  Different states disclose different information about sex offenders but the information is house in local and national databases.  Both can be accessed through the NSOPW.  Besides the searchable database, the NSOPW also contains important educational materials for preventing sexual abuse and warning signs for identifying possible abuse and offenders.

Parents for Megan’s Law

Parents for Megan’s Law (PFML) is a tremendous resource dedicated to the prevention and treatment of sexual abuse through “the provision of education, advocacy, counseling, victim services, policy and legislative support services.”  PFML provides links to a multitude of sites and services that can support victims, parents and educators.  Funded through a not-for-profit agency, PFML also maintains a 24-Hour hotline which can assist victims and refer them to necessary services.  The hotline is based in New York state and can be reached at 1-800- ASK- PFML.

Stop it Now!

Stop it Now! provides resources and publications to address key concerns around child sexual abuse.  It provides materials to help identify warning signs of victims and offenders and resources to educate parents and community members on how to prevent child abuse.   While copies of publications can be ordered through the site, free downloads are also available.  Besides these materials, the site also provides links to different advocacy groups and several support lines.  The site even offers an Online Help Center which walks visitors through a series of questions to gauge individual situations and provide information, guidance and support based on the responses provided.  In addition to these services, the site also maintains a Helpline at 1-888-PREVENT.  While the Helpline is not manned daily, it does provide an outlet for those in need.

Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline

Childhelp maintains the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD. This service is dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and serves the United States, its territories, and Canada. The Hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with professional crisis counselors who, through interpreters, can provide assistance in 170 languages. The Hotline offers crisis intervention, information, literature, and referrals to thousands of emergency, social service, and support resources. All calls are anonymous and confidential.

Give presentations using your iPad with SlideShark

As iPads become more prevalent, I’m starting to see more and more apps that allow people to use their iPad in new ways.  Take SlideShark for example.  SlideShark is a free app that allows people to use their iPads to show presentations they’ve created with Powerpoint.  The process couldn’t be easier.  After creating an account with SlideShark, simply upload your Powerpoint file to the website and the site will convert the presentation to play on your iPad.  When you run the SlideShark app on your iPad, all of your presentations will appear.  Just download the individual files you need and you can show the presentation even when you don’t have a wireless Internet connection.  The site claims that it will maintain all of the transitions and effects in a presentation, but I haven’t tested out all of the possibilities to confirm this claim.  If you have a presentation with loads of non-linear navigation, I would suggest trying out the presentation before you actually use it academically.

SlideShark is a great application to use when you’re giving presentations at conferences or meeting with students one-on-one.  It utilizes the iPad’s mobility features and its intuitive gestures to make showing a Powerpoint presentation effortless.  That being said, I have a couple of minor reservations with SlideShark.  First, the site only offers 25 Mb of online storage for free.   A few image intensive presentations could easily surpass the free account, which is probably by design.  There are also some management issues that users need to be aware of.  For a presentation to appear on an iPad, it must be stored online.  If it’s deleted online, it will not be available on your iPad, even if you downloaded it previously.  Again, this process is probably by design to prompt users to purchase more storage through SlideShark.  With some thoughtful maneuvering of files, however, someone could easily avoid paying anything to store their files.  I plan to just cycle the files I currently need and back-up the files offline.  That way, I’ll have the ability to show the files I’m currently using but avoid paying any storage fees at all.

For help getting starting with SlideShark, be sure to check out this tutorial: