QR codes have been around for awhile now, and I’ve seen them referred to more in more in how they can be used in the classroom.  My department started using QR codes last year.  The QR code to the right connects the user to our World History class website (password protected).

The history department created QR codes for our class websites, and other sites we use with our students, such as our class wiki and Edmodo.  We handed those codes out to students and parents at the beginning of the school year, Back to School Night, and Open House.  Parents (and students) seemed to really like the idea that it was so easy to access important sites for the history courses simply by scanning the code.  It’s a quicker way to access the website as opposed to trying to type in the url on a smart phone.

This past weekend, a colleague and I were presenting at the Association of Teacher Educators 9ATE) conference in Atlanta.  Everything we did was tech-based.  We created our presentation using GooglePresentation and added a QR code so that participants could scan the code before the presentation started and therefore could easily follow along.  We used our iPads for our presentation as well.  I went to a different presentation on iPads in the classroom and I saw that the presenters also used a QR code to give attendees the presentation and contact information.  ATE is not a technology conference, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the QR code in action.  However, last year at ISTE, QR codes were everywhere.  This is a great option for people who don’t want the clutter of paper. Because let’s face it, how many of us really look back through the papers we receive from presentations and workshops?  It is much easier to find a digital file simply by using the search option on the computer as opposed to searching through a mound of stapled packets filed away in a drawer.

My next step for QR code integration is to share this with my principal and the Office of Secondary Education because we receive WAY too much paper and where does it go really?  In the recycle bin for the Special Education department?  In the trash?  Used as kindling for camping?

I’m also going to integrate QR codes into my curriculum this semester.  I plan to create enrichment opportunities for students because I am lucky to have a good group students who want to push themselves beyond the bare minimum.  Wish me luck!