DIGITAL LITERACY. Using QR codes. Overview

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2 DL DL DIGITAL LITERACY Using QR codes Overview These learning activities are based on using QR codes in the classroom. QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is a term for a type of 2D barcode. A QR code contains coded information that can be read quickly by a special scanner app on any smartphone or tablet. When you scan a QR code using a QR reader app, it can take you to a web address, link to a YouTube video, bring up a location on Google Maps or generate a new . Learners investigate examples of QR codes, learn to scan the codes and practise accessing them at home. They use QR codes to access digital storytelling websites, record themselves reading poetry and generate QR codes that link to their videos. They also create advertisements, research information on World Book Day and create QR codes that link to more information. For these activities, you will need a QR code generator to make codes and a QR code reader to scan printed codes. Choose one of the online QR code generators listed here. Then download a free QR reader app for your tablet or smartphone. Please review all apps and media content in advance to make sure they are suitable for your learners before presenting them to the class. 105

3 Literacy for Key Stage 3 Learners with Cognitive Difficulties Useful QR code tools QR code generators QR code readers QR code reader (ios or Android) Quick Scan (ios or Android) i-nigma reader (ios, Android or Windows Phone) (Windows or Mac desktop) Before the Lesson With careful planning, you can captivate learners with dynamic and engaging content. QR codes have potential uses throughout your school, both indoors and outdoors. They allow the learners to download outdoor activity trail maps, discover information about particular topics and access rich media such as videos and audio files. It is important to research the possible uses of QR codes to enhance learning and teaching. Once you have done so, it is essential to work out how to successfully integrate these into your teaching and learning activities. We have suggested some activities below to help you become comfortable with using QR codes for literacy activities. Before you use these activities in class, practise generating QR codes and scanning them with a QR reader to familiarise yourself with the technology. 106

4 DL How to Create a QR Code How to Read a QR Code Access the internet on a PC, Mac, tablet or smartphone. You will need to have 3G, 4G or wifi enabled on your device. Select a QR code generator from the list provided and visit the web page to create a QR code online. Select what type of resource you want to link the code to, for example a web address (URL), a blank , some text, a Facebook page, an uploaded MP3, an image, a YouTube video or a PDF. Most QR code generators will let you link to a website URL at no cost. However, you may have to pay to link to other resource formats (depending on your chosen QR code tool). Enter the information requested for your type of resource. For example, if you are linking to a web address, enter the URL. Some generators let you choose a colour for your QR code. If the option is there, select a colour from those provided (the default is black). Click Create. Download your QR code and save it. Print the QR code by itself, or import it into a Word document and add explanatory text and an image. Then print the Word document. Practise making a few more codes and linking to different resources such as YouTube videos or your school website. Access the internet on a tablet or smartphone, or a PC or Mac equipped with a webcam. Select a QR reader from the list provided and download the app to your computer, tablet or smartphone. Have a QR code ready (online, or printed in a magazine or newspaper). Or you could use a QR code that you have already created and printed yourself. Open the app. If you are using a tablet or smartphone, point the camera on your device at the QR code. If you are using a desktop computer, make sure the webcam is pointing towards the QR Code. The app will automatically read the QR code and take you to the linked resource. Please note, some QR apps allow you to generate and also read QR codes. It is worth checking online reviews to find the most suitable app for your purposes. 107

5 Literacy for Key Stage 3 Learners with Cognitive Difficulties What is a QR code? Learning Intentions Learners will have opportunities to: discover what a QR code is; identify QR codes; scan QR codes in class; and access QR codes at home. Skills and Capabilities Managing Information Use their own and others ideas to locate sources of information Select, classify, and compare information You will need: Magazines containing QR codes A tablet or smartphone with a QR code reader A page of pre-prepared printed QR codes Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities QR codes are appearing everywhere. Show the learners some examples of QR codes in advertisements, on websites or in magazines. Explain to the learners why it is good to learn about QR codes, as they are appearing all around us, for example in magazines, in fast food outlets, in shopping centres and even at bus stops. Provide the learners with a range of magazines and place some downloaded or pre-prepared codes around the classroom or within a certain area of the school or outdoor environment. (Read the How To guide in the previous section for guidance on downloading and creating QR codes.) Encourage your learners to look for the QR codes and identify them. At this stage you are just ensuring everyone can identify what a QR code looks like. Talk to the learners about how the code is unreadable to them, but by using an app and the camera on a smartphone or tablet, they will be able to scan the code to access information. Use the example of supermarket barcodes to help explain their use to your learners. When they go to the supermarket, all items have a barcode and QR codes work in a similar way. 108

6 DL Getting Started Show the learners how to locate and use a QR reader app on a tablet or smartphone. Provide them with a tablet or smartphone and ask them to find the app themselves. Give the learners a page of printed QR codes. The codes should all be relevant and interesting to your learners. For example, they could link to: your school website (preferably their class page); a YouTube clip of a favourite singer or group; or a favourite website related to a topic of interest. Allow the learners time to explore and scan QR codes in order to gain access to dynamic content. This experience will help them develop the skills to interact with the QR codes in the real world. Link four different codes to: 1. the theme tune from Titanic; 2. a short video clip about the ship (from the Pathé News archive, available on C2k); 3. the Titanic Centre website; and 4. a suitable online educational resource about the Titanic. Extension Activity Provide the parents with some information on QR codes and how you are using them in school. Encourage them to look for suitable QR codes and allow their children to access them on their own tablet or smartphone when not in school. These ICT skills will open up more opportunities for learners to engage, experience and acquire knowledge about topics of interest in their local and wider environment. Ask your learners if they have ever noticed QR codes when they have been out shopping or in a fast food restaurant. Encourage them to look for QR codes the next time they are out. Once all the learners are comfortable with scanning QR codes, encourage them to go to a defined area (where you have placed pre-prepared codes on a particular theme) and scan them. For example, you could add some codes to a display about the Titanic. 109

7 Literacy for Key Stage 3 Learners with Cognitive Difficulties What are the different ways you can use QR codes? 110 Learning Intentions Learners will have opportunities to: use QR codes to access stories; and access online literacy resources. Skills and Capabilities Managing Information Use their own and others ideas to locate sources of information Use a range of methods for collating, recording and representing information You will need: Links to online literacy resources, for example: digital storytelling websites podcasts interviews YouTube resources Pre-prepared QR codes Useful links (search for authors ) Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities QR codes offer a simple way to link to digital storytelling websites or online literacy resources. When scanned, QR codes allow your learners to access engaging and informative content. 1. Generate a QR code for your online literacy resource. (This could be a link to a book podcast, a YouTube video, an interview with an author, or a storytelling website.) All online materials should be previewed for suitability. 2. Print the code. 3. Attach the code to a book. 4. Encourage the learners to explore and read the book. 5. Instruct them to use the QR reader app to access the online resources. Extension Ideas Add QR codes to books in the school library as well as class books. Use digital storytelling websites and other literacy resources to support the stories you are reading with your learners. Create QR codes to provide media, audio and YouTube or Vimeo videos to enhance these books, so that the stories are accessible to all of the learners. Choose an author to focus on each term. Research some suitable online resources, podcasts and literacy activities related to this author. Create several QR codes which will provide learners with links to information to enhance their literacy skills. Traditional storytelling will not always provide a stimulating or engaging lesson for all learners. Prepare a range of QR codes which link to audio and visual resources and use these to support literacy lessons.

8 DL THE BIG STORY BOOK 111

9 Literacy for Key Stage 3 Learners with Cognitive Difficulties How can QR codes be used to support poetry? Learning Intentions Learners will have opportunities to: read and analyse short poems; compose their own poems; create videos of poetry performances; and create QR codes to link to videos. Skills and Capabilities Thinking, Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Make connections between learning in different contexts Experiment with ideas and questions You will need: Some short poems to read Paper and pens (for illustration) A tablet or smartphone with video recording function A QR code generator app Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities Studying poetry allows you the perfect opportunity to integrate the use of QR codes seamlessly into learning and teaching. Read some short poems to your class. Ask the learners some questions about the poems to get them thinking about poetry. For example: What is the poem about? Is it funny, sad or scary? How many lines does the poem have? What is it called? Do any of the words rhyme? Do poems have to rhyme? Explain to your learners that they will compose a poem about a chosen subject (either individually or in small groups). Once the learners are happy with their poems, ask them to type them out on a computer. You may wish to use symbol-supported software to enhance the learning experience. Print the poems and encourage the learners to read their poem aloud. You may also ask them to illustrate their poem. Once the learners have written and possibly illustrated their poems, they can video themselves reciting the poems. Use the video function on a tablet or smartphone to record the videos. 112

10 DL Allow the learners to review their videos and re-record them if necessary. The discussions about issues like clarity, pace and tone will all form part of your literacy lesson and encourage effective communication between the learners and their intended audience. Display the learners printed poems on a noticeboard or in a booklet (to share with other classes, parents or visitors). With the support of staff, learners can: upload their videos to the web (to your school website or a YouTube channel); copy the URL (web address) of the uploaded video files; and create QR codes linked to their uploaded videos. Print the QR codes, cut them out and stick them onto the printed poems. Please note, if the video is large, you may wish to specify the size to prevent anyone using too much of their mobile data allowance when watching it on a smartphone or tablet. 113

11 Literacy for Key Stage 3 Learners with Cognitive Difficulties QR codes for advertisements 114 Learning Intentions Learners will have opportunities to: create their own advertisement; generate a QR code; and link the code to their uploaded advertisement. Skills and Capabilities Working with Others Listen actively and share opinions Managing Information Plan and set goals Use their own and others ideas to locate sources of information Communicate with a sense of audience and purpose You will need: A tablet with video recording function Online presentation software Paper and pens to make posters Useful links Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities QR codes appear in many of the advertisements we see in shops and in magazines. This task lets learners create an advertisement for a certain product, service or event they want to promote. If possible, link this activity with a mini-enterprise or school council idea, like a charity coffee morning. Getting Started Encourage the learners to decide (as a group) what they want to advertise. Discuss how they might advertise their chosen event. Will it be through posters, a video, a presentation or text messages, for example? Discuss how using QR codes could really grab the attention of their target audience. Provide the learners with some ideas. For example, a QR code could be linked to: a video of the work done by the charity (factual information); an online slideshow of previous charity coffee mornings; or a video of one of the learners talking about the charity or the event. Decide what sort of advertisement the learners will create together. If they are recording a video message, upload the video to the internet (for example your school website or a YouTube channel, with privacy settings applied). Copy the website address (URL) of the uploaded video or resource.

12 DL Open a QR creator app and support the learners to create a QR code for their online advertisement. Ask the learners to make a poster or flyer for the event. Print the QR code and stick it onto the poster or flyers and share it with the target audience. 115

13 Literacy for Key Stage 3 Learners with Cognitive Difficulties QR codes to promote World Book Day Learning Intentions Learners will have opportunities to: find out about World Book Day; record photographic, video and textual information; create a web page or social media page; and create, save and print QR codes. Skills and Capabilities Managing Information Use a range of methods for collating, recording and representing information Being Creative Experiment with ideas You will need: A digital camera A tablet with video recording function Online web page creation software (optional) Paper and pens to make posters Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities Ask your learners to discuss World Book Day and the events that will be happening in school. Encourage them to think about the questions people may have about World Book Day, for example: What date is it on? What happens on World Book Day? What s it all about? What s happening in school on this day? Can I dress up? Do I need to bring anything on the day? Find out the answers from the Literacy Curriculum Leader or someone within your school and record findings through digital photos, video clips, typed or written notes. Using the information they have gathered, help the learners to create a simple web page (using online web page or blogging tools such as Google Sites, Weebly for Education or Edublogs). Alternatively, encourage them to create an announcement on your school website, social media account or school YouTube channel. (The announcement can be in the form of text, a slideshow or a video.) The information will describe all the things happening in school and further afield on World Book Day. Create a QR code for each of the online links. For example, create a QR code linking to the relevant page on your school website, or create a QR code using the URL of a YouTube video with information on World Book Day. 116

14 DL Save and print the QR codes as a class. Recap on all the questions the learners considered at the beginning and then encourage them to write or type these out onto A4 or A5 pieces of paper. Stick a QR code which will direct readers to the relevant answer beside each question. Display these World Book Day questions on a school noticeboard or around the school in areas that have wifi or 4G access, where mobile devices can be used. You can also send learners home with the informational posters and QR codes to tell parents about the event. Useful links