Friday, August 2, 2013

Tune Into Technology Thursday Linky - QR Codes

What an exciting week I have had.  It's Friday so I am only one day late on joining the Linky today from I Teach 1:1.  I have some excitement to share but will of course share my QR Code tidbits as well.

This week  one of my dear friends and I embarked on our first ever TECH CAMP.  We were lucky to have a group of  6 K -2 kiddos and 11 3rd - 5th kiddos attend our camp. It was all week long. Nothing better to prepare us for the upcoming school year. We taught them how to set up a Kid Blog, add posts, comment and learned to embed.  That was on Monday!  The rest of the week was filled with learning Pic Collage, Explain Everything, Educreations, Hopscotch, Scratch and so much more.  Stay tuned for the full details of the post.  Here are a few pictures of the kiddos, which will lead me into my QR ideas.





So back to the Linky, Here are 5 of ideas for using QR codes.  I hope some of them are new ideas for you.

1.  DON'T FORGET - If you notice in the pictures above the kiddos are holding a picture frame.  In that frame is a certificate for attending Tech Camp and a QR code.  The QR code will take them to their blog. Now they will never forget the website that their blog is on and what a great way to share it with friends and family.

2.  EASY WEB - How many times have you had to tell your students a web site link?  I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to say go to www.----------.com and 17 kids say "whaat???", "I didn't hear you", or "it doesn't work.  Well Google Chrome's extension saved my day.  Their extension goo.gl URL Shortener  will not only shorten a URL but also provide a QR codes.  So you can just project the code on your screen, or iPad if you don't have a projector and they can scan it! AMAZE!!!

3.  AS A GIFT - For Christmas, we decorated cd's for our parents as ornaments but it was the back of the ornament that was the best.  We recorded a video of each child describing their favorite "family tradition" or "What my family means to me".  We turned the videos into QR codes and glued them to the back of the ornament.  A life long gift that they can scan and play every year.

4.  INTRODUCING - At my school, each teacher recorded a short message about themselves, turned it into a QR code and attached it to a picture of themselves that hung outside our doors.  When visitors would come or future parents, they could scan our code and get to know a little about us.

5.  SO MANY USES - A simple code placed into a spreadsheet can do wonders.  If you paste this code (=image("https://chart.googleapis.com/chart?chs=150x150&cht=qr&chl=" & A2) into box B2 of a spread sheet, you can write anything in A2 and it will create a QR code for that. Here is a screen shot.

You can just drag the code down into each box under it and it will work for each one.  SOOOOO fun.  I'm thinking you can leave a cute message on a students desk for them to scan.  OR how about a kiddo who is off task, you drop the QR code on the desk, they scan it and it say "Get Back To Work" (hee hee).  The possibilities are endless as you can see in A3, you can put websites in as well.  What an easy way to create a quick quiz, or math problems around the room.  Give it a try, I am sure you will be able to find many more things to do with it.

Have A Great Weekend
 photo Natalie.png

2 comments:

  1. Your tech camp sounds so exciting! I can't wait to hear more about it. I am so excited to try out the spreadsheet trick. That would save me soo much time! Thanks for linking up with us.:)

    Kristin
    iTeach 1:1

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  2. Love that tip about the QR codes! going to try that! great blog!

    Lou
    X

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