Tuesday, June 24, 2014

QR Code Breaking & A Freebie

Today’s post is brought to you by the letters Q and R.

It’s me again, Matt, that same guy that created plaid.  Today I wanted to share one of my favorite tools, QR Codes.  

“I’m pretty familiar with them,” you think rolling your eyes at me and noticing a quick response code on your McDonald's cup while perusing through the latest issue of Highlights and Ranger Rick.  

And I totally get that—but I figured I’d show you how I use them in my class and around school.  There’s a lot of different ways QR codes can be integrated into daily learning and I thought I’d share some of those.  Plus, I’ve got a brand new freebie for you to grab hold of and try with students, yourself, your kids, or your dog (if it has the brain capacity to do so).
                                                   

Did you know: Creating QR Codes is free and simple.
These are three sites that I always use.
Did you know:  QR Codes can be linked to multiple outlets 
  • Text (which you can write yourself), 
  • URLs (which can be videos, images, websites, and more).
  • Email address
  • Locations
  • Calendars
  • WiFi networks
  • Messaging
One of the cooler elements of QR Coding is teaching my students how to become a QR Code Breaker.  Basically, I'm teaching the kids how they work and how they'll use them in the classroom.  It's easy and fast and they pick it up faster than teachers.  In my class we use QR Codes to read books.  

You gotta remember, a lot of my students are struggling readers and independent reading time isn't always fun because they can't read.  Well, I've changed that because I'll find books that are read aloud on the web and turn it into a QR code for them.  Suddenly these kids are reading and enjoying all the books that were originally too difficult (and now we're fostering a greater interest in reading and making kids excited).  Engagement is always the key.

So I've got a little freebie for you today.  I'm sharing QR Code Breaker: Scan, Read, and Answer.  These are worksheets with built in QR Codes on each sheet that will take students directly to a book.  Students can then listen/read and answer the questions that correlate on each page.  I like to call this active reading.  There's multiple routes students can take to finish the work sheets, and even a couple of levels based on the rigor your looking for.
or

***These are for every kid.  Not just struggling readers***
This will work for all students and all reading levels.


Here's a glimpse of how each worksheet will be set up.

TL;DR Edition:  QR Codes are cool.  Here is a freebie for you to try out.


If you still want to see some more QR Code ideas in action 
stop over and visit me at Digital: Divide & Conquer.  


         

11 comments:

  1. This is one of the best freebies I have ever seen! I love using QR codes and so do my students! I have used them on task cards, a lot. Using them to access stories is an awesome way to incorporate them! I love how they are attached right to the response sheet too. This is so awesome! Thank you!

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    1. Thank You so much! I hope your kids get a lot of use out of them! I have a ton of Read Alouds like this, but this was my first time combing the response sheets to them. It will be the beginning of many more. I also think this would work well with images, videos, and even websites (unlimited possibilities).

      Matt
      Digital: Divide & Conquer

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  2. This is a great freebie! Thank you. I know my kids will have fun.

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    1. Thanks Jaime! If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask (or if you're looking for a particular them too).

      Thanks,
      Matt
      Digital: Divide & Conquer

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  3. This is amazing!!! Even my Kinders will be able to do this. I love technology but it is sometimes hard to find tech that my Kinders can do, especially at the beginning of the year!
    Mrs. Spriggs’ Kindergarten Pond

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    1. Thanks so much Melissa. I know exactly how you feel about finding tech that can fit the kids needs and then getting them using it appropriately. If you've got any questions about it just let me know!
      Thanks,
      Matt

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  4. This is one of the most awesome freebies I've ever come across! You rocked it with this one! Thank you!

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    1. You're making me blush. :) Thanks so much and I'm excited that you'll be able to use this. I had my daughter doing one today (she'll be in second grade) so when she asked if she could do another one I was a little excited. Nothing like active reading during the summer.

      Thanks Angie!
      Matt

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  5. These look great! What kind of devices do your students use to read the QR codes? How many devices do you have in your classroom? I'd like to try these out but feel held back with having to purchase the devices. Thanks!

    Susan

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    1. Susan,
      We use mobile devices like iPods and iPads. We also have kids bring in some of their own stuff. I've got about 4 devices in my room, but they're always on loan (in and out of the room). One of the best ways to try this is have the kids bring their own stuff in--we will send home a letter with expectations along with telling them which apps we're going to use. That way the parents can download them beforehand. The cool thing is that you don't need 20 in a class. You could group the kids or use it as a rotation. That is what I do (and other teachers) and it works out pretty well. Let me know if you've got any other questions!

      Matt

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  6. Thank you for your qr code generator, it's very funny, I believe my students must be very interested in creating qr codes by themselves.

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