You might be wondering: What in the world are all these little squares I keep seeing everywhere?!? If you look to the right side of my page, you'll even see one there.
This past week at WOW! Academy was the first time I really interacted with them much. They are called "QR Codes" short for Quick Response Code. You can use your smart phone or computer to scan the code, and it will take you to the stored data that's connected to the code. It enables you to access the data quicker than if you typed in a long web address. It also can link to things like contacts, lists, etc. It's pretty awesome!
"What does this have to do with education?", you might ask. I would say: ALOT! Just in the short time I've been using them, I can think of a MILLION ways to integrate this into your school and classroom. First and foremost - lets get the technical side out of the way.
1. How do I scan a QR code?
Download a QR code scanning app on your smart phone. I have 'Scan' which has worked very well so far, and it's FREE! Also, I've hear that QR Reader and i-nigma are both good! Simply open the app, and hold your phone up to the QR code. It will scan, and automatically take you to the content! Easy as pie! Lets try it! Use your smart phone to scan this code! (Be aware: You should see a John Doe contact. Remember, this is NOT a real person! hah!)!
2. How do I create a QR code?
-Well, there are LOTS of different sites that will allow you to do this! One site is QR Code Generator. This site allows you to link to free text, a web address, even makes it to when you scan the code, it sends a contact to your smart phone. (I'm going to use this at Open house. I will have a code outside my door that parents can scan and it will bring up my contact information. They can create a new contact from it so they'll have my info stored in their phone! How cool!!
-Another great way to create a QR code is through Google URL Shortener. Basically, you can take any web address you're want your students/parents to link to, and shorten them to a goo.gl address. This is great for use in the classroom because if you were to ask students who weren't able to scan QR codes to log on to a website that looked like mine: www.middleschoolmathsource.blogspot.com it would take them 30 minutes :) SO, instead, you can go to goo.gl and paste the link that you'd like to shorten. It will give you a new goo.gl link that looks something like this goo.gl/3JdRN (This is a shortened link to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store). Then, when you click on 'details' for that link, it will give you a matching QR code that you can use for that same link! How awesome!
3. How will people see it?
I have been saving my QR codes in a file with the name of where they lead, so I can upload them to blogs, facebook, or print them to hang in class. Simply print them out, hang them in class, and use them for lessons, surveys, etc.
An Example:
I created a google form that has about 15 questions on it for the first day of school. I created a QR code to link to it, and when students come in the first day of class, they will scan the QR code, fill out the survey on their smartphone, and when they submit that, I will have a google form with ALL of their information in one place!
I will post 'Top 10 Ways to use QR for back to school' soon, but I thought this might help those of you who are completely new to the world of QR Codes!
That's a lot of 'techy' talk, but I hope it helps!
This past week at WOW! Academy was the first time I really interacted with them much. They are called "QR Codes" short for Quick Response Code. You can use your smart phone or computer to scan the code, and it will take you to the stored data that's connected to the code. It enables you to access the data quicker than if you typed in a long web address. It also can link to things like contacts, lists, etc. It's pretty awesome!
"What does this have to do with education?", you might ask. I would say: ALOT! Just in the short time I've been using them, I can think of a MILLION ways to integrate this into your school and classroom. First and foremost - lets get the technical side out of the way.
1. How do I scan a QR code?
Download a QR code scanning app on your smart phone. I have 'Scan' which has worked very well so far, and it's FREE! Also, I've hear that QR Reader and i-nigma are both good! Simply open the app, and hold your phone up to the QR code. It will scan, and automatically take you to the content! Easy as pie! Lets try it! Use your smart phone to scan this code! (Be aware: You should see a John Doe contact. Remember, this is NOT a real person! hah!)!
2. How do I create a QR code?
-Well, there are LOTS of different sites that will allow you to do this! One site is QR Code Generator. This site allows you to link to free text, a web address, even makes it to when you scan the code, it sends a contact to your smart phone. (I'm going to use this at Open house. I will have a code outside my door that parents can scan and it will bring up my contact information. They can create a new contact from it so they'll have my info stored in their phone! How cool!!
-Another great way to create a QR code is through Google URL Shortener. Basically, you can take any web address you're want your students/parents to link to, and shorten them to a goo.gl address. This is great for use in the classroom because if you were to ask students who weren't able to scan QR codes to log on to a website that looked like mine: www.middleschoolmathsource.blogspot.com it would take them 30 minutes :) SO, instead, you can go to goo.gl and paste the link that you'd like to shorten. It will give you a new goo.gl link that looks something like this goo.gl/3JdRN (This is a shortened link to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store). Then, when you click on 'details' for that link, it will give you a matching QR code that you can use for that same link! How awesome!
3. How will people see it?
I have been saving my QR codes in a file with the name of where they lead, so I can upload them to blogs, facebook, or print them to hang in class. Simply print them out, hang them in class, and use them for lessons, surveys, etc.
An Example:
I created a google form that has about 15 questions on it for the first day of school. I created a QR code to link to it, and when students come in the first day of class, they will scan the QR code, fill out the survey on their smartphone, and when they submit that, I will have a google form with ALL of their information in one place!
I will post 'Top 10 Ways to use QR for back to school' soon, but I thought this might help those of you who are completely new to the world of QR Codes!
That's a lot of 'techy' talk, but I hope it helps!
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