QR Codes

QR Codes

Description of tool:

QR codes are similar to a bar code that you scan with a QR reader. You can access QR readers on your cell phone or tablets. You must have a QR reader in order to use QR codes. QR codes can be made with a QR generator. When you scan a QR code with a reader, the code takes you to a website you can access on your phone or tablet. QR codes make it possible to visit websites without having to type in the web address. The QR code takes you directly to the website. It makes it easier for students to visit websites. It saves them time and energy because they won't waste half the class trying to type in a website address. QR codes are really easy to make if you use a QR generator. I use goo.gl URL shortener. I used it as an extension on Google Chrome. All I have to do is click the shortener for the website page I am on. The goo.gl shortener gives me a shortened web address as well as a QR code. I just copy and paste the QR code into whatever document I want the students to use for the codes. 

Pedagogical uses:

12 Ways to Use QR Codes in the Classroom

49 Ways to Use QR Codes

I personally will use QR codes for my students to have a quick way to get to a website. My students will also be generating QR codes for reports and to share their sources. It will take a lot less time for my students to get started on a webquest if they can use Ipads to scan QR codes. Students will think its fun that they get to use Ipads to do worksheets! However, my students will scanning the QR code for the worksheet and then doing the work on a whiteboard. QR codes can allow you to go paperless in your classroom if so choose. 

My favorite thing about QR codes is how easy they are to scan and how it saves you time typing in a website. 

QR codes are accessible everywhere. There are businesses that have started to put QR codes on their products. Students could go on a QR scavenger hunt to see how many QR codes they can find in their everyday lives. 

Plus, QR codes are a fun way to implement technology into a classroom setting. There are a lot of resources on the internet with QR codes already generated. 

Goo.gl shortner with QR code generator

Location of the tool:

The QR code generator I used is an extension of Google Chrome. You can find the extension in the Chrome store at https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/apps?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon. If you look online, there are numerous websites that will create QR codes for you. You just have to find the right one that works for you. As for QR readers, you can find them in the app store. Again, you have to find the right QR reader that works for you. Some readers save where you have been, others do not.
https://www.the-qrcode-generator.com/
http://www.qr-code-generator.com/

Why you want to learn this tool:

QR codes are easy to generate and they will save your students time. Students can use an Ipad or phone to snap the QR code instead of taking the time to type in the website. QR codes are a great way for students to share information with you or each other. They do not take a long time to generate and they are fun to use. Plus, if you get the right QR reader, the reader will save the QR codes you have snapped so you don't have to write down websites you have visited. QR codes are a great way to incorporate technology into your classroom and a great way to use less paper in the classroom. 

Sources:

Barrett, T. (n.d.). 49 Interesting Ways to Use QR Codes to Support Learning. Retrieved July 27, 2015, from https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ujQ_jnrGc5BE9oEA47CBkpgwjLXjN6IlIjrDlXUJvFs/embed?slide=id.i0

ISTE Standards. (2015). Retrieved July 22, 2015, from http://www.iste.org/standards

Miller, A. (2011, December 5). Twelve Ideas for Teaching with QR Codes. Retrieved July 27, 2015.

ISTE Standards:

Teacher:

1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
1. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
2. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
3. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
4. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environment
2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
1. Design or adapt learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
2. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
3. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
4. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments, aligned with content and technology standards, and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching
3. Model digital age work and learning
1. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations
2. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation
3. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats
4. Model and facilitate effective use of emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning
4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
1. Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources
2. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources
3. Promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interaction related to the use of technology and information
4. N/A
5. Engage in professional growth and leadership
1. Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning
2. Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others
3. Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning
4. Contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community

Students:

1. Creativity and innovation
1. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes
2. N/A
3. Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues
4. N/A
2. Communication and collaboration
1. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media
2. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats
3. N/A
4. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems
3. Research and information fluency
1. Plan strategies to guide inquiry
2. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media
3. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks
4. N/A
4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making
1. Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation
2. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project
3. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions
4. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions
5. Digital citizenship
1. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology
2. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity
3. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning
4. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship
6. Technology operations and concepts
1. Understand and use technology systems
2. Select and use applications effectively and productively
3. Troubleshoot systems and applications
4. Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies