How can QR codes be used in the education space?

Assisting Parents and Students at Home: Teachers could include QR codes on worksheets and other printed assignments that link students to extra tutorials or other helpful documentation.

An Innovative Open House: Post QR codes around a classroom when families are visiting. You could include the codes next to student’s work and class projects. QR codes could access photos, videos, project media, blogs, and many other ideas teachers could think on and on about. You could have devices handy for parents who don’t have a mobile device and show them the technologies use and access the materials to share.

Class Newsletters: Along with a printed URL on your printed materials, you could include a QR code that would direct parents to a mobile version of your class newsletter. Of course, make sure you inform them on what the QR code is and how it works.  This could also link them to a sign-up for a digital version of the newsletter!

Fast Surveys or Quizzes: Develop a survey or quiz using Survey Monkey or a Google Docs Form and create a QR code link to that form. Anyone could easily access and complete the survey or quiz on the mobile device.

Library Book Reviews/Book Trailers: Students create book reviews of the books they’ve read and create a QR code link to the text synopsis or a video book trailer so that other students interested in these books can read the review before deciding to check it out.

Learning a Language: Students can review a set of words and phrases and when the student needs to hear the words being pronounced, the student can scan the QR code to listen to the audio version.

Glorified Textbooks: QR codes can be used to enhance textbooks by adding the codes with links to maps, videos, podcasts, research information and so much more.

Notices: Teachers can post a QR code on the classroom door so that student can always swing by and scan the code to get important information like homework assignments, links to notes, or videos of a recorded lesson.

District Calendar: Post a link to the school calendar via a QR code. Parents, students and visitors can scan the code and instantly receive access to your calendar.

Scavenger Hunt: Create a QR code scavenger hunt as a fun new student orientation activity to help new students get oriented with the campus.

Accessing Library Resources: Students scan a QR code to access library information and resources directly on the phone.

Calendar of Resources: Teacher creates a calendar and posts QR codes on the designated date with a QR code that links to that days class notes, or video recording of the lesson or lab.

Mobile Note Taking: Use QR Codes in your PowerPoint presentations and allow easy ways for students to take notes, rather than writing it on paper or typing it on a computer. Their mobiles already stick to them, allow their notes to do the same.

Engaging Assignments: Allow students the freedom to add the novelty of QR Codes to their assignments. Student can use QR Codes to give web links, contact details or even citations to the teacher. The teacher can do the same to make his/her assignment paper more engaging to a younger audience. Add a joke hidden in a QR Code, useful readings, motivational quotes, etc.

QR Code Scavenger Hunts: Being able to easily tag pretty much anything with a QR Code allows for fun interactive games. Have a physical scavenger hunt by which students receive their first clue in the form of a QR Code. They then solve the clue and go looking for the second clue, etc, etc. By allowing students to solve clues in a real world they won’t only learn valuable problem solving skills, but also learn about the environment in which to scavenger hunt takes place.

On-Line Scavenger Hunts: Apply the same techniques in the previous example in a virtual environment. Use your network of peers and collections of on-line tools to send students from one source of information to another. Or, if you are already engaging students in a virtual world, like Second Life or Exit Reality, you can work together with residents to leave QR Code trails. Having the ability to tag your environment, leave information trails and make it engaging for an already mobile generation has many applications beyond these already mentioned.

QR Code Posters: Create a poster of QR codes on any subject or topic.

Periodic Table of Elements: Create a QR code for each element and display on a chart. When they are scanned it takes you a YouTube video about the element.

QR Codes for Polls: The student scans the QR code and immediate feedback is given. You can quickly see which answer the students have picked.

QR Codes link to Forms: Use Google forms to create your quiz, test or survey. Create a QR code that points to that form.

Student Digital Portfolios: If students were given a personal QR code that linked to page or a file folder that could be added to throughout the year, the students, parents and teachers would have a living record of all the successes and struggles that student had throughout the year.  Video clips, artwork, assignments and creative projects could all be stored at a central location and with the simple scan of a code, be accessed.