QR Credit: Using QR Codes to Links Students to Extra Content for Independent Reading

Marketers are going crazy over QR codes right now. They offer a great way to their audience directly from a print ad (a sign or a piece of mail) to a website. Smartphone users find themselves scanning QR codes just for the sake of curiosity, and that is why they are so powerful.

Curiosity is one of the most crucial elements of learning. It is a strong desire to know or learn something. A want to learn. The popular KWL chart (Know, Want to Know, Learned) relies on that "Want to Know"column to guide learning. As teachers, it is our greatest struggle to make kids want to know. This is where that QR code comes in.

You can adapt this idea to many usages, but specifically this plan is for reading/literature teachers. The idea is to use QR codes printed on labels inside or on the backs of classroom library books, to link to extra credit assignments. They can be specific assignments for that particular book or something as general a list of essay topics. You can link to your own assignments posted on your classroom blog or to an assignment someone has posted on a third-party website.

Between 2009 and 2011, the number of teens with smartphones tripled to 4.8 million. Imagine how many of your students will have them in 2012 and beyond! At home (unless your school technology policy allows for the use of mobile devices with teacher supervision, then you can do it at school!), students can use a smartphone (theirs or their parents') or a tablet device with a camera to scan the QR code and navigate to the assignment page. The excitement of getting to scan a code will get them to the site. It's your job after that to make the assignment seem worth it.

Note: You'll have to be sure that- unless you teach at one of those lucky schools with iPads for all- you accompany the QR code with a printed URL that students on the wrong side of the digital divide can type into their browser to get the same information.

You can go to Kaywa for the purpose of generating codes. They look like this:

Tech Savvy Tip: If you have your own classroom blog, I would recommend setting up the permalink  to the assignment to be short and text-based. 

Curriculum Tip: At the start of a book, hand out bookmarks with a QR code linking to that unit on the class blog. Students can scan it to pull up extra-help study guides or printable versions of graphic organizers.

Pinterest In The Classroom: 5 Ideas & 4 Tips

Pinterest is the latest, hottest social network. It is a visual bookmarking site, allowing you to collect images and links onto pin boards (like bulletin boards) and share them with your friends. Here are five ways to use Pinterest in your classroom.

1. Idea Collection
The number one educational use for Pinterest right now is collection. You can find lots of wonderful ideas for classroom crafts, lesson plans, and ways to decorate your environment. While most of the activities available on Pinterest are for K-6 (they have cuter projects), many of these projects can be adapted for older students.

The great resources I've found for my secondary classroom include cartoons explaining grammar rules, classroom rules posters, and DIY desktop pencil organizers.

Elementary educators can expect to find Thing 1 and Thing 2 handprint art, recipes for themed snacks, melted crayon paintings and more.


2. Interactive Study Guides
Now we get into less conventional uses. This is a great idea for your visual and hands-on students who need images and interaction to remember information. Create a pin-board study guide!

You'll need to create a list of questions for your study guide. Then find internet resources to answer those questions and pin them with the question as the description. Be sure to find pages with visual interest. A test about anatomy could show a chart of the parts of the brain with the description, "Which part of the brain is responsible for memory," and link to a page about the human brain.

3. Independent Reading Lists
Create a pin board with age appropriate titles of merit, using their covers for the visual aspect. Link to Amazon, Goodreads, or a book review site. Refer students to this list for Independent reading assignments or liesure reading.

3b. Likewise, you can create a list of topics for assignments and let students pick off of the pin board. Let them choose topics for papers about twentieth century artists by looking at their images and linking to a blurb about the topic they might choose. Give them background information before choosing.

4. Research Projects
Have students create their own pin boards to organize research. Are they studying Ancient Greece? Have them pin images of art, videos about myths, and photographs of the landscape. Make learning constructive and visual with a Pinterest research projects.


5. Extra Help
Create a classroom pin board with links to videos and articles for further explanation and exploration.


Universal Tips:
Here are some things you should remember, no matter what your application!

• Visual- Be certain to use a strong image on your bookmark. It will make an impression with students and help keep your board organized.
• Description- Utilize descriptions. Most casual Pinterest users only post small comments. In the classroom, images should be matched with strong study guide questions, descriptions, etc. Let your students use all parts of their brain for higher impact.
• Link- It's nice to collect pictures, but try to collect them from reliable sites with valuable content. You can find The Hunger Games book cover on a number of sites, so pin it from a site that has value. Choose scholarly articles, well-written reviews, or Amazon purchase pages.
• Organization- Make sure that your boards have a clear purpose. "My Classroom", "Graphic Design", and "Ancient Greece" are some examples of strong themes. Organization will help you find saved links later and help the other users utilize your pin boards.