Thursday, February 17, 2011

QR Codes--Be the First on Your Block to Use Them with Your Students

Have you seen any of these little squares in magazines or on products? (If not, you will now--they're starting to crop up everywhere.) What you've got here is a QR code. All you need now is a QR reader app on your phone and you can scan the code to get information (e.g. a web address, a phone number, or just some informational text). On his Thinking Stick blog, Jeff Utech declared 2011 the year of the QR code back in 2010. After reading his post I started thinking about lots of different uses for teachers and students. For instance, what if at the bottom of all the handouts you included a QR code that directed students to your SWIFT site? What if student artwork in the hallways included a QR code that provided more information about the art and the artist?

Interested? Start by reading Utech's post--he tells you how to make one (it's EASY!) and then check out this ever-expanding list of ways to use them in education being put together by Tom Barrett. Then, come back here and share an idea for how to use them with your students. (Don't forget, if you want to earn clock hours, make sure to include your first and last name AND (CH) after your name so we give you credit.)
Posted by Kimberly Allison at 9:11 AM
Labels:

Comments (7)

Loading... Logging you in...
Dashboard | Edit profile | Logout
  • Logged in as
+1 Vote up Vote down
Patrice Lindgren ch's avatar

Patrice Lindgren ch · 737 weeks ago

I new about QR's but had never taken the time to download the android reader for my phone. It took less than a minute! I think this would be fun to have announcements, advertising for events, and whodoneit by the junior high commons. I'm not sure if all parents allow their children to have full wireless packages on their phones. It would be interesting to see how many students would engage in the
+1 Vote up Vote down
Marie Page (CH)'s avatar

Marie Page (CH) · 737 weeks ago

I agree with Patrice that not all students might have that type of phone to use a QR, but what a cool device to use. I would use it with voting for items in my class, to announcements for my club, to selling items in the greenhouse. I especially like the QR's that are used to educate you about parts on the skeleton that is cool. I would also see me using it to link my students to my Swift site.
+1 Vote up Vote down
Hilary Hall (CH)'s avatar

Hilary Hall (CH) · 736 weeks ago

If I were to use them, I'd put them on handouts that would like the kids to my website. I've regularly asked my students which ones have internet on their phones, etc. and only about 1/4 of them do, so I'm not sure at this point putting together a whole classroom activity would be worth the effort and explanation- I'd wait until more kids had access and were able to participate in it. (Eventually, I could see using it in newsletters, putting them around with links to maps or images in the French-speaking world).
1 reply · active 726 weeks ago
0 Vote up Vote down
Paul Campbell (CH)'s avatar

Paul Campbell (CH) · 726 weeks ago

I really like the idea of QR codes attached on assignments and projects. This could be used as a quick and easy way for students to gather the needed information. But the number of students with access could hurt early on, but that will only increase with time. I use a similar system to pay my starbucks tab and that's pretty cool. Not really related, but still cool.
+1 Vote up Vote down
Ben Todd (CH)'s avatar

Ben Todd (CH) · 735 weeks ago

We might use these as a way for students to add additional information on projects that included posters. This wold be a way for students to enjoy the freedom and creativity of a poster and the convenience of using a computer generated resource. They would be able to include quite a bit more information with a QR as opposed to just the poster.
0 Vote up Vote down
Kimberly's avatar

Kimberly · 735 weeks ago

Everyone's ideas are great! Of course, it's important to remember that not all students have access to these tools, but that shouldn't stop us from using them in ways that wouldn't negatively impact those who don't have them. I think of it this way: not all our students used to have TV or even watch the same shows when they did, but we still reference TV shows, movies, etc. that would enhance learning.
0 Vote up Vote down
J Suhoversnik (CH)'s avatar

J Suhoversnik (CH) · 723 weeks ago

I was thinking this could be something we could do with advisory. Team up students so each team has at least one smart phone. Then do some type of scavenger hunt using them. I typically have sophomores so maybe a getting to know the school activity in September. Have each QR code tell them a clue to locate the next place.

I also like the idea of having the QR code on a worksheet that provides the answers.

Post a new comment

Comments by

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)