QR Codes in the classroom

QR Codes are almost everywhere these days. They are on products and packaging in our supermarkets, in magazines and newspapers, they are even in the current handwriting text that I am using in my class and they are a great resource to use in the classroom! After you create a QR code linked to the content you want to make available to the children in your class, you will need to add a QR Code Scanner or QR Reader app on your device. There are many free QR Code Scanner apps available. The one I am currently using in my classroom is QR Reader for iPad by TapMedia Ltd.

Once you learn how to create a QR code, you will find that you will be easily able to make all sorts of resources for your classroom that the children will love and at the same time allowing you to better integrate technology into your classroom as per the new curriculum requirements. 

How to create a basic QR Code
1. Access a QR code generator website. I like to use www.qrstuff.com or there are many other free QR code generator websites.
2. You will need to know the URL of the content you are creating the QR Code for. This can easily be cut and pasted from the website it is coming from to your QR Code generator website.
3. Follow the directions on the QR code generator website. With any encoding options that are made available, you will want to go ahead and make sure that the 'static' option is selected. 
4. By following the directions you should be able to easily create a QR Code.

Handy Hint!
Depending on your school's internet security policies, you may find that accessing content on YouTube could be blocked. If this is the case, you have two options (and possibly more that I haven't discovered yet!):
1. Provide your IT Department with the URL's for your QR codes and have them unblocked
2. You can make a 'safe' version of the content you are trying to access, by eliminating the ads and videos that appear to the side of the video you are accessing.  This 'safe' version can be made through using a website such as www.safeshare.tv/.

Don't have time to create the QR Codes Yourself?
Easy! I've done the hard work for you! You can visit my TPT store and download my Popular Picture Books QR Code set here or my Australian Animals QR Code set here. 

Using QR Codes in the classroom
So far in my classroom I have used the QR Codes to link to online narrated and animated stories and also to short factual clips. I have also created QR codes that are linked to voice recordings of the children in my class talking about 'farms'. These were then displayed around the room and the children were able to scan and listen to what their classmates had to say about farms. 

In physical form, I have created the QR Code posters, as pictured above and displayed them on my classroom wall. I found this particularly useful for the beginning of Kindergarten as the children learnt to independently manage handling both their iPad and headphones, as well as lining up the QR code for scanning. Don't be fooled though! 5 and 6  year olds are very technologically savvy and have quickly developed and added these new skills to a growing repertoire. From wall posters we have quickly moved to little booklets that the children keep in their own boxes with their headphones. The pictures below show one the children in my class using them. I have some other QR code goals for my classroom that I am very excited about. It is just finding the time #holidays and really, the possibilities are almost limitless!