QR Codes

Wow!  Where did the summer go?  I can't believe it's time to be thinking about school again. I report in two weeks.  I've enjoyed a vacation to Colorado, a fun 4th of July weekend in New York City, and time to relax but I think I'm (almost) ready to go back. I'm itching to buy school supplies and my mind is racing with ideas (thanks to all my blogging buddies!).

One of the ideas I keep coming back to is using QR Codes in my instruction. I went to a technology training last week and attending a fabulous session (thank you, Laurie!) on QR Codes. I am going to use at least a few at Open House which we do before school starts (I'm hoping that will pique the interest of several of my students).  I created one that is a simple welcome: 

I'm also going to set out 3x5 cards at Open House and ask the kids to work with their parents to write three interesting facts about themselves. I'll turn their facts into QR Codes and let the kids guess who the code describes (I think I'll display them on our Smart Board). I'll have the helper of the day pick a code to scan and then read the clues to the class. 

To read the codes all we'll need is a web cam and the QR Reader software (here's a link to the directions of what to download if you're interested). Actually QR Codes are meant to be read with Smart Phones, but we'll have to do it at school a little differently.

Here's a link to an interesting article and video about QR Codes:  http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/qr-codes-grave-markers/story?id=14102071

Here's a link to the QR Code Generator I used for these codes (there are several but this one does color):  http://www.qrstuff.com/

Enjoy the rest of your summer!  



 Debbie