Wow, this could have been me.
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One of the most intriguing features of the new iPhone 4s is undoubtedly Siri, and here’s a fun video that plays off the fun you can have with Siri’s responses. Enjoy!
Video Fun: A Duet with Siri
Set World Records at Your Next Event
I was watching some podcast Brian Brushwood was on when I first discovered RecordSetter.com This is a online, user-generated world record site. (I almost feel foolish writing anything else because I know your brains are already spinning on this one.) It’s easy. After signing up, you post a video as proof. They review it and then confirm you made or broke the record.
After hearing about this, one of our students immediately went and broke the record for number of times saying “pretty” before “good” in one breath. He was beaten soon after by a girl from Canada, but rest assured that he considered it a matter of national pride to get this record back in American hands!
So, we hosted a world record event and set a bunch of great ones that are being verified as I type. As a fun promo for the event our staff broke several records including my own world record:
Sesame Street G: Glee Parody
I thought this Glee parody was great. They nailed the characters.
If you are super into Glee and would like to teach a series on it, CYMT.org is publishing a teaching series on it. You can download the first one, “Not Just a Loser,” HERE.
Want to Learn to Code?
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wanted to really learn to code. I feel like I know just enough to know about programming that I don’t know what I’m doing. This weekend I stumbled upon Codecademy which is a free site that will teach you some basic coding / programming skills. The lessons start out really easy (can you type your name?), and then get a little more difficult as they teach you some of the fundamentals. You can also code along with your friends, and earn badges for the lessons you finish (Who doesn’t like badges?).
It might be a great thing for students that might be interested in coding but don’t know quite where to start.
Enjoy, who knows, maybe someday you’ll find yourself turning into a CodeMonkey.
Guest Post: QR Codes
How are you getting information to your students? Years ago you had to stick a piece of paper to a bulletin board and send home a newsletter. Remember having to actually cut clip-art out of a book? That used to be incredibly effective at getting information across to people. Now it’s almost a joke. Students are so wired now, and in some cases so environmentally conscious that to send them a newsletter is slow and a waste of paper.
At my church we have begun using QR codes. You know, those little squarish bar codes that resemble something the UPS man should scan on your box? Basically, a QR Code is a bar code that embeds information such as a web address, and is designed to be “read” by smart phones. Most of our students carry either a smart phone (Android, iPhone, or Blackberry) or an iPod Touch, and they bring them into our worship services. So, instead of forcing students to put their phones away, we ask them to participate in the service with their phones! Each week in the center of the tables that our students sit at we have information pieces about upcoming events with QR Codes on them. Students can scan the code which links to a web address with further information about the event, class, or resource. Sometimes the code takes them to a page with a funny YouTube video, other times it takes them to a page to register for Camp. The great thing about the QR Code is that once a student has scanned it, they can then revisit the information on their mobile device. It’s like a newsletter that follows them around everywhere!
So how do you get a QR Code and then use it? Well, my favorite QR Code generator can be found at QR Stuff. Once you follow the link all you have to do is select the options you want, enter your info, and the website automatically create the code for you. Simply download the code to your computer and attach it to anything you want! There are so many possibilities for using these little guys, and students love them!
Jon Homesley
Jon grew up around Charlotte, NC. He graduated from The College at Southeastern in 2010 with a BA doubling majoring in The History of Ideas and Biblical Studies. In 2008 he married his wife Chelsea. They currently live just north of Charlotte where Jon serves as the College Pastor, and Youth Ministry Geek (not his real title) at Christ Community Church. He prefers Windows 7 to OSX, Android to iOS, and Walkmans to iPods.
Jon’s church- www.ccchuntersville.com
Jon’s personal site- www.jonhomesley.com
Can Playing with Legos Help Problem Solving?
I saw this article over on theNextWeb: Playing with Lego helps you create better websites, apparently.
From the article:
Can playing with Lego help you design better websites? A new, entirely serious, document from a Swiss team claims it can. URL – User Requirements with Lego is a process that creative teams can go through to help work out the best ways of communicating online.
Why Lego? Apparently because it’s simple to use; is known by most people; offers shapes and colours to aid with inspiration; can be built into simple or complex forms and is used in many different cultures. The process is based on an official Lego initiative called Serious Play, which looks to get all kinds of businesses using Lego to enhance their innovation and performance.
Read the rest of the article HERE.
I love the idea of helping teams work out solutions using Lego models. The article talks about using it for web projects, but i wonder if you could use the same ideas for other projects. Anyone want to plan their Fall Retreat this way?
I’m not sure it will work, but I’d love to try. Can I buy Legos as a work expense?
Friday Fun: Conan’s Team Loves Final Cut
Earlier this week I let everyone know about the new Final Cut Pro. It’s been met with controversy for some of the changes that it made. Not to let that controversy go unnoticed, the Conan staff let’s their feelings be known.
What did you think of the new Final Cut?
Never Tie a Water Balloon Again
I saw this on Facebook today (I wish I could remember who, sorry for not giving you credit) and it is a must have for any youth pastor. It’s an essential tool for any of the water themed activities you might have this summer. It a water ballon fill and tie tool all in one contraption. This would have saved me hours when I worked as a Jr High Ministry intern.
If you want to pick one up they are only $10, seems worth it to me, you can get it at Vat19.com.
Postagram
I love taking pictures with my iPhone and Droid X. I always have one of them with me, and at 5 and 8 megapixels they take pretty good pix. My favorite photo app is instagram (FREE) and a close second is Halftone. Both of these apps are only available for iOS (sorry Droid fans) but that is not what I am here to talk about. I found a great app that takes those digital pictures and turns them into something a grandmother can enjoy (that sounded better in my head). Drum roll please (enters stage right, crowd Awwws, cameras flash)…POSTAGRAM!!! Ok, I guess it is not that big of a deal but it is pretty cool. Postagram, for Android and iPhone, was created with instagram in mind but a recent update allows you to use any photo in your phone and create a postcard. Still not that impressed? Well I tried it out and I was really impressed and so was my mother-in-law when she received a custom postcard with her grandchildren on it. Postagram allows you to create, personalize, and upload, a picture, note, and address. Then Postagram prints a postcard on glossy paper, and mails it out for you. The down side is that whole process took about 5 days, the app told me 3 to 7 days so I guess it could have been worst and each postcard from start to finish costs $1.00. Don’t just take my word for it download Postagram the app and you first postcard are FREE!
I was thinking this app could be useful catching students doing good things, snap a picture and mail them a card with a note from you saying “Thanks for serving!” Or take a picture of a kids face during a sloppy game and a note from you saying, “I love that you are in our ministry.” Or get a pic of a staff person being with students and a note saying “You are making a difference, Thanks!” People love mail and pictures, comment below with how you think you could use this app to better your youth ministry.
