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.
