What's a QR code... and why do I care?

What's a QR Code?: A QR code is kind of like a barcode. You may have seen it on promotional materials for various companies. You use a Smart Phone or tablet to scan the QR code using a QR Reader app (there are MANY out there, they are usually free. I recommend i-nigma or QR Reader). After you've scanned the QR code, a variety of things can happen depending on what type of code was created: a website may open up, words may appear on your screen, or contact information may be given.

(Scanning this QR code will bring you to a YouTube video on the Magic 7 method of long division)

How is this useful in education?: One of the main benefits of QR codes is that it gets you to a given website quickly and easily - so, rather than having students or their families type in a long URL address, they can just scan the code and immediately be taken to the website in question.

So, some ideas for how to use it: 

• if students create videos, this is an easy way for their families to view them, or for students to view each others' videos. 
• If students are doing a research project on the iPads, you could make a sheet with QR Codes for useful websites for them, and then they would only have to scan the QR code to get to the website rather than typing in a long URL. (Check out this entry for an example!)
• Similarly, you could make little booklets with QR codes for commonly used sites (First in Math, Odyssey, Coolmath, etc) to get them quickly and easily to the site. Or, you could make QR codes for those high-frequency sites and post them around the room.
• You could have a QR code posted in your classroom on Open House with your contact information for parents to scan. 
• You could have a scavenger hunt in the classroom - if they think the answer is A, scan QR Code A, if it's B, scan QR code B, and then words would appear on their screen telling them if they're right or wrong, or telling them where to go next on the scavenger hunt, etc.
• Create self-checking websites for centers - create a QR code that, when scanned, will tell students the answer to a problem, then create one code for each question.
• Also for centers: have QR codes for YouTube (or your own self-created) videos to help them through the work for that center, so you're basically duplicating yourself.

...and that's just a few ideas!

Okay, you've sold me... now how do I MAKE one of those things?: Some of the QR code apps allow you to create codes on your iPad. Otherwise, there are free website for creating QR codes: www.the-qrcode-generator.com, or www.qrstuff.com. Go to one of those websites, choose what type of QR code you are creating on the left, and then input your information.

Important note: If you want to use QR codes for PHOTOS or VIDEOS, these photos or videos HAVE to be stored ON THE INTERNET somewhere PUBLIC (where anyone can get to it). So, for example: you could record a video using your iPad, upload it to your Dropbox, get the link to it off the website, and then create a QR Code for that link. (This is how I did the book commercial project in the hallway). This is not the ONLY way to do it, but it's one way that I have found works pretty well.

So what do I do with the code once I have created it?: Again, this depends on what you want to do with it. The best thing to do is to SAVE the image (either to your photo roll on an iPad, or just save it as a photo file to your I Drive on a computer), and then you can print it, insert it into a document or a presentation, show it full screen on the SmartBoard, etc.

How do YOU use QR codes in the classroom?

Reinventing the Research Process

It's really unfortunate to me how social studies has been mistreated by education over the last few years. I understand just as well as everyone else the pressures put on teachers in the areas of math and reading. Of course our students need those basic skills... however, many schools have handled the problem of lack of time by taking time away from science and social studies, and this is a huge disservice to our kids! These are some of their favorite subjects - and why can't we incorporate literacy and math skills into those subjects?

In social studies in grade 4, we focus on the history of our state (Wisconsin), and then branch out to looking at the regions of the United States. For anyone not from Wisconsin, Native American history is big in this area of the country, and has a huge impact on the culture of our state as it is. 

Let me give you a little before-and-after glimpse into how I taught Native American history of Wisconsin:

Before: I split students into groups ("tribes"), each one studying a different tribe native to Wisconsin. (Ojibwe, Oneida, Potawatomi, Ho Chunk, and Menominee). Within the groups, each person would research a different aspect of tribal life (food, shelter, clothing, language, history, etc). Students would read books and do a little internet research, jotting down notes on a lined piece of paper. Then, the final product: they would write a 5 sentence paragraph about what they learned and draw a picture to go along with it, and I would use the photos and paragraphs to create a little poster display.

The problem: Pretty boring, to be honest. Not a BAD activity, but definitely not one that engaged my students in higher levels of thinking or creativity. I constantly struggled with the research aspect of it. Students had lots of problems finding appropriate and relevant information, using an efficient note-taking process, and then struggled again with putting the information into their own words and writing the paragraph. I would teach these literacy skills as best I could, but as I'm sure all experienced teachers know, some would catch on and some would totally miss the point.

After: We recently started this unit, with several changes in mind. The basic set up is the same, but I utilized the jigsaw idea even more. Before starting research, I had all the topic groups work together (the foods, the shelters, etc) to create a list of questions - what did they want to learn? They also picked out of their list of questions which ones were most crucial.

Then, they created a mind map using the app iBrainstorm. This app is very simple - Post Its and a marker on a corkboard - but it's awesome for helping students flesh out their ideas. Since this was our first time using it, we all created essentially the same mind map (topic in the center, with the questions coming out of it). My hope is that as we continue to use this app more, they will be able to create their own mind maps to help them visualize their ideas.

The students are still doing book reserach, but I also created QR codes using this website. I found several good websites ahead of time, and then created QR codes for easy access - this way we can avoid the dreaded Google Search (which, as we all know, either ends up with students finding inappropriate material, or finding nothing due to too vague or too specific search terms).

They are going to keep track of their research right in the iBrainstorm app (by creating new post its with answers and connecting them to the questions they address) and then use a worksheet I created as a Google Doc (using the Google Drive app) to plan out their final product. 

The final product is going to be a presentation using the app 30 Hands. This app has students insert pictures, text, etc, and then record their voices going through each of their slides, and produces a video. The students will plan out what they want to say based on their research, and find photos to match it. Once they're done, I plan to have them watch each others' videos and fill out a graphic organizer so they are truly learning about all 5 tribes. 

The solution: The project now has really stepped up on its use of inquiry - the students are researching these topics because they're interested, and they have developed the questions to guide them in their search - and they also understand the research process better. They are working more collaboratively (both in their topic groups and their tribe groups) and will give more feedback on each others' work. They are still reading and writing, but are using tools to help them organize and structure information, so I'm not punishing those students who struggle with these types of tasks. Not to mention - the students are so excited! Much more so than when we were writing sentences and drawing pictures.

Phew! This first blog entry was a big one. It's a big project! I'll keep everyone up to date as the project unfolds!

Time for a change...

Obviously it's been awhile. :)

A lot has changed for me in a year... (almost done with my Master's of Instructional Technology degree, teaching technology PD for my district and others, in my first year of teaching in a 1:1 iPad classroom, etc...)

All of these changes have now brought me back to this blog, with an idea for a change in direction.

Let me start by telling you all this: at the beginning of this year, I had a class set of iPads. I was already 1 year into my graduate degree and 1 year into my position as Innovation Coach in my district (a technology teacher-leader). And yet, even with all these amazing devices at my fingertips, I found myself barely using them, and even when I did use them, it wasn't for the type of transformational change that I had always thought and taught about. I came home feeling guilty, that guilt magnified every time someone referred to me as a "technology guru"or something along those lines. What right did I have to call myself an expert in instructional technology when all I was doing with these iPads was playing games?

All that changed right before winter break this year. I attended an awesome conference, and while I was there, I made a list - I took everything that I had learned about quality technology integration and iPad usage in the classroom, applied it to MY classroom, and then made a list of all the things I wanted to do, in order.

Since then, I have been implementing these projects one by one. Some of the projects are just logistical things to make my and my students' lives easier, but others really are stepping in the direction of that transformational change I've always been so excited about.

I have to tell you: it has made a BIG difference. First of all, I have come home from school every day happy and excited instead of frustrated. Wow! That's huge. Also, and I know this sounds like a cliche that can't possibly true... but since I decided to go whole-hog into this technology integration idea and changing the way I do business in my classroom, I have not had a single serious behavior problem, and the work that my students are creating blows me away. Not to mention that when we do things in class that aren't technology related, even then they are more focused and engaged in the activity.

As I'm ending my master's degree, one of my final projects is going to be to keep my colleagues updated on the things I'm doing in my classroom. I have a unique position in that I am not a full-time trainer, I am still a teacher, as well as being a technology coach. I think it would be really beneficial for my fellow teachers to see what I'm doing, to make it easier for them to envision it working in their own classrooms.

So, I've decided to renew this blog, with a new focus on my technology-related projects in the classroom. Of course if some brilliant idea strikes me that's not technology-related I may still blog about it - technology isn't the answer to everything, after all! But I truly believe that I have found my calling in life, and I'm excited to use this blog as a vehicle for sharing my ideas.