Teaching with QR codes can be a fun experience for teachers and students. 34% of students said they are willing to learn when their teachers suggest something. If you are a teacher who wants to move away from traditional methods of teaching then you can opt for using QR codes in your classroom. QR codes can be easily created with the help of a good QR Code Generator that enables you to customize and create as many QR codes as you wish. As technology has become an integral part of students’ lives, especially teens, teachers can use that familiarity and add it to the classroom so students are more engaged and interested in their otherwise boring course materials. QR codes can be a boon to teachers and students in many ways more than one.
But will QR codes make a breakthrough? Yes, they can. The main reason is their versatility, ease of use, and ease of creation. They can be used to do so much and teachers can be super-creative with QR codes thereby not limiting them in any way to teach their class. If you want your students to be more attentive and to have fun while learning, then consider using QR codes. Sometimes, traditional forms of teaching are not as effective. In such cases, it is best if you try and add the element of fun with the help of QR codes. Using QR codes can also make students ready for the outside world because restaurants, airports, and many other establishments are making use of the technology.
In teaching, QR codes have already entered many classrooms. As educational institutions embrace technology more than ever before, there is likelihood that various forms of technology will be used. QR codes are likely to be one of those technologies because they are one of the simplest to use and teachers can use them as they please.
Ideas To Use QR Codes In Teaching
The following are some ideas to get started on using QR codes for teaching.
Scavenger hunt
You can create a scavenger hunt using QR codes for your students. This is ideal for students of any age and you don’t have to make them work by themselves. You can divide the class into large or small groups so they learn about collaboration and teamwork. You can print QR codes and spread them in various places in the classroom. Starting at a particular QR code, students can then go to the next depending on whether they are able to solve the first QR code. This can be a fun learning experience for all students. For example, you can point the QR code so they can find information or you can give them a clue to the next QR code and so on. Adding a reward can make it more interesting.
Fun for those who finish fast
There are fast learners in your class who probably are just looking out the window waiting for other students to finish the classwork you assigned. Instead of letting them do that, you can plan some activities for these students so they don’t waste the time they have at hand. You can create a learning station or a few learning stations and use QR codes to provide interesting information in each. This way, students are eager to finish their classwork quickly so they can learn something new and enjoy their free time. You can encode the QR codes with videos or other beneficial course material.
Make books interesting
Do you think your students aren’t reading as many books as they should? Then why not make the books interesting? You can do that with the help of QR codes. You can add a QR code to a few books and then link the QR code to a video trailer or a review video. This can enable students to determine whether they are interested in reading the books or not without actually touching the books! This ensures they have the tools with them so they can make up their minds whether they want to read specific books. For younger kids, the QR code can contain an audio version of the book.
Help students who are struggling
QR codes can help teachers provide support to slower learners in class. When teaching, you want all your students to learn what they should by the end of the year. But everyone won’t learn at the same pace. That doesn’t mean you let the slower learners to lag behind. Instead, use QR codes in this situation so they know you care about them. For example, if you want them to read a book and they are unable to read, then you can add an audio recording of it and encode it in QR code. Else, you can have QR codes explaining how a certain process works so they can better understand difficult concepts.
Audio or video recording
You can ensure teaching is joyful by allowing students to make content that you can then link to QR codes. For instance, let us say you have assigned students different books and they each want to summarize what the book is about. You can ask students to record an audio clip of their book review and then you can encode different QR codes to each audio clip. This can help other students know what their peers are reading and this can be a fun activity that calls for participation from every student in the class. This can help make students more confident.
Provide extra help
You can provide extra help by using QR codes. If you have supplementary information then you can use that information and link it to QR code. For example, if there is a topic that most students generally struggle in, then you can curate the best websites, tutorials, and videos that enable your students to thoroughly understand the concept. Then you can add these to your QR code. When students scan the QR code, they can get access to all that information and they can save it to their phone if they wish. This can help them refer back to all the information before their exams too.
Let students focus on individual strengths
You can help your students express their individuality with the help of QR codes. Each student has a particular strength and through QR codes, every student has the ability to showcase it to the other students in the class. While some might be good writers, others are better speakers. Regardless of what they are good at, you can ask them to make a presentation of their favorite topic. If they want to make a video then you can ask them to record themselves. You can take the individual presentations and then add them to QR codes. Other students can then view the presentations and learn from their peers. This can help students respect each other more in class.
How Teachers Can Find A Reliable QR Code Generator
There are a plethora of QR code generators available to teachers. So how do you find the best one out there? Firstly, make sure you know what type of content you will be encoding within the QR code. Not all QR code generators allow free generation of all types of QR codes. For example, reliable QR code generators generally charge when you need to create video QR codes and audio QR codes. This can vary and you might need to do thorough research. What you want to check is the reviews and the plans available. How often are you planning to use QR codes? If this is the first time you are using it for teaching your class then take a cheaper plan and upgrade as required.
When searching for a QR code generator, you also want to ensure it possesses error correction capabilities and enables generation of dynamic and static QR codes. While there are many free QR generators available for teaching it is best if you opt for reliable ones from brands you trust. Free QR code generators might not provide security features that are necessary in QR codes. Hence, you want to ensure the QR code generator does not compromise when it comes to data. A reliable QR generator will enable you to customize your QR codes such as by allowing you to add your school’s logo and generating colorful QR codes. It is best to use a trial version before opting for a QR code generator.
Learning is the ultimate goal of teaching and if you care about how your students are learning, then you can try to use QR codes in the classroom. You can ask for their feedback through QR codes where they can either choose from multiple choice questions or they can add comments about how you can improve. This can help you understand how you can further improve teaching and what students love about your teaching methods. This feedback can be done bi-monthly. QR codes can help students learn how to collaborate and save your time when you teach. Start using QR codes today and see how they benefit your students.