QR Codes Connect Students to Books
RSSBy Lauren Barack The fifth graders at Brook Forest Elementary in Oak Brook, IL, don't have their own smartphones—yet. But they're learning about one of the latest trends in mobile media: Quick Response Codes, QR codes for short. "I realized how often I see them in public and I wanted to give [students] an awareness of them," says Brook Forest's school librarian, John Schumacher, referring to QR codes, two-dimensional barcodes that can be read using a camera on a smartphone. "They were coming up with lots of ideas of what they could make: business cards, links to their online accounts, and creating further designs." But first, Schumacher had the students write mini book lists and reviews, and then QR code their suggestions so other students could see what they liked. The popular school librarian—who posts online the number of books he reads each year along with authors he's met—is big on getting books into kids' hands. He even papers lockers and bathrooms at Brook Forest with posters marketing the latest title that's arrived in the library. When the poster goes up in the bathroom, students know they can start reserving a new book. "And I know they're reading in the bathrooms," Schumacher says. "Because they come in and tell me something I've only posted in there. I've pretty much taken over the school." QR codes captured Schumacher's attention because of what students could create and link to in a school library setting. One library he found on YouTube, he says, created QR codes for students and showed how they could link to reviews, videos and even podcasts about the books. He knows that might be a bit much for his fifth graders—plus few primary school students carry a smartphone equipped with a barcode reader—but the bigger challenge was finding QR generators that weren't blocked by the school servers. After finding a couple he could log into (Kaywa QR and Delivr) and then walking around with his iPhone to show the kids what they had created, Schumacher's now planning to generate a few for the library. He'll print them on paper along with the information, hoping to get the students more excited about not just the codes but books, too. "It will draw them to the books and perhaps they'll read something they haven't read before," he says. "I'm really big on advertising." Mr. Schu (as he is affectionately deemed) is the best thing to happen to our LMC. He has transformed our library into a place each and every student and teacher is drawn to and wants to be a part of. The kids know that Mr. Schu has read just about every book in our library and can help even the hesitant reader to find a book or author. His knowledge of technology and what he is able to accomplish with all grade levels is amazing. We are so lucky to have him! It's possible to read QRCodes on a computer, QuickMark has a software (free) for that.
Students could read themselves the codes they've created !
Hope it helps
(I'm french, sorry if I make mistakes)
twitter : @eQRoeil Just an idea, but how about a librarian wearing a
QRazystuff.com t-shirt, which resolves to their book of
the day? Our QR Tags, can be changed on a minute-by-
minute basis, updating the content without the need of
producing new codes/prints.
http://www.QRazystuff.com Its great to see technology being used in new ways to help improve learning and interacting. QR Codes is a great tool to open their minds. So many levels for QR Code uses. Companies have started to use the power of QR codes as well, one I found was at http://www.qubetag.com * = Required information
Kids at Brook Forest Elementary
created their own QR Code.
Reader Comments (7)
Posted by Ellen Wozny - 5th grade teacher on September 15, 2010 05:11:44AM
Posted by eQRoeil Pascal on September 16, 2010 02:32:00AM
Posted by QRazystuff on September 16, 2010 07:03:00AM
Posted by John on September 17, 2010 05:52:42PM
