I wanted to try a technology tool that would engage students in a high school Academic Literacy class especially when they become "zoned out". Since scanning a QR (quick response) code requires a smart phone, this has an immediate hook for today's student.
When I "field tested" this exercise to help learn vocabulary words the response was all positive. "Cool!" "I would totally use that!"
The homework assignment was uploaded using another Web 2.0 tool, Scribd. It can be found at http://www.scribd.com/upload-document# It's great for embedding a Word document in a web page, such as this blog.
For the above assignment, I used an existing homework
assignment, and modified it to include QR codes. Using QR codes is not difficult, but it is somewhat of a tedious task
depending on how many codes are needed. I used www.qrstuff.com to generate the QR codes by simply typing in the vocabulary word and
definition. One click, and the QR code appeared. Since I had 10
vocabulary words, I figured out a naming convention right away in order to get the right code with the right word. I copied and pasted the codes on the above Word document, and resized the codes to save space.
QR codes can be read from paper or on a computer screen. Once scanned, the content can be saved by the student any number of ways for future reference. The best thing about the tool is that students like it and therefore will engage with the learning content associated with it.
QR Codes have so much potential in classrooms. It's great that you have already exposed students to it and that they enjoyed it!
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