A QR Code, abbreviated for Quick Response Code, is a mobile phone readable bar code that can store website URL’s, plain text, phone numbers, email addresses and pretty much any other alphanumeric data. They are found everywhere yet is the classroom an appropriate place for them? Read on and make up your own mind…
First, try scanning the QR code below for the experience. All you will need is a smart phone with a QR reader application, which can be downloaded for free. 😉
In her book, ‘Deeper Learning With QR Codes and Augmented Reality: A Scannable Solution for Your Classroom‘, Monica Burns discusses scannable technology integration in the classroom. For this to be done effectively, she suggests four categories which overlap and intertwine to provide a language for examining thoughtful integration of scannables. These categories are: access, curate, engage, and share and are abbreviated to the ACES framework. Read on to see what this entails in detail.
Access
QR codes provide quick and easy access to web content, as pupils don’t have to type in a long web address or navigate a search engine. Whether it’s a video, short passage, image, or file, students can scan a QR code and access it in seconds.
Curate
With QR codes, teachers can connect resources they’ve chosen for their pupils. This could include differentiated resource geared toward specific pupils or material that the teacher wants all pupils to explore.
Engage
Scannables give pupils opportunities to engage with the content that the teacher has chosen to expose them to. For example, pupils can scan a resource guide in their writing folder to find the answer to a question, a page in a textbook to hear a speech come to life, or a map that suddenly becomes interactive.
Share
Creating with technology tools provides opportunities for pupils to demonstrate understanding while producing a piece of work that can be shared. QR codes can connect to digital student work hosted on the web, including videos uploaded to YouTube or posts on a blog. Placing these QR codes in meaningful spaces such as a pupil-created book trailer on the cover of a book, or an audio recording on pieces of artwork, can connect pupils’ work to shareable spaces.
I am very much in favour of creating a QR friendly classroom. QR Codes can be integrated into a lesson in a way that elevates traditional learning experiences. They can help with accessing homework, decreasing paperwork, creating an interactive learning environment and engaging children. If done thoughtfully, scannable technology has potential to transform learning environments and make homework come to life.
Start creating QR Codes from the recommended websites found below, I know I will! 😀
Create your own QR Code for free on the sites listed below or find many others by doing a simple search online.
Check out some amazing posters with QR codes, by Tony Vincent, at www.learninghand.com. What a fun way to learn around the classroom!
Also, click HERE to see how I integrated a QR Code on a World War 2 display in the classroom.
Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on QR Code classroom experiences in the classroom. I look forward to reading them! ❤
Till next time…
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