One of the QR codes used in this year’s scavenger hunt
Technology is becoming embedded deeper in classrooms each year, and as the technology develops, new ways to integrate that technology into the classroom are always being created.
Dawn McGowan’s Questar III Special Education class at Maple Hill Middle School recently used iPads to complete a QR Code Scavenger Hunt. Working with Model Schools Coordinator Carolyn Strauch, McGowan used self-correcting Google forms to help students review content they learned throughout the year.
Students paired up in teams of two, one student from McGowan’s class, and one from Stephanie Edmonds’ class.
“Dawn and I met periodically and would work on new technology integration projects for her classroom. During implementation of the project or lesson, I would either model the lesson, or we would co-teach,” Strauch said.
Just one of the 10 questions students needed to answer
The concept is very simple: students find a given location in the school with a QR code and scan it with their iPad. Each code reveals a question, and if the student answers correctly, it reveals the location of the next question. If the student answers incorrectly, it leads to a brief video to review the content and then gives the student another opportunity to answer the question.
It’s not just about the answer, though. The app also generates a report for McGowan to see which questions students consistently got correct or incorrect, which she can use to plan further review or adjust how she teaches that lesson in the future.
McGowan says there is so much use for technology in the classroom.
“You can you this technology for a flipped classroom, it has lots of potential. The kids love it and they’re very familiar with QR codes. We’ve been exposing them a little bit more and more as the year goes on and of course Carolyn supports us with all of this,” she said.
A student scans a code to reveal a question
This QR project looked similar on the surface to their last QR code scavenger hunt but there the similarities stopped. Last time the class did this activity, students had to go back to their material and find the correct answer before being able to move on to the next question. Now, the self-correcting forms take them right to the content they can use to find the right answer.
Strauch says there are several benefits to projects like this for students. First, she says, it gets them out of their seats and moving. It also presents the information to them in a new environment, which helps with retention of that information. Working in teams helps build communication and teamwork skills, and Strauch says the students tend to have valuable conversations about the topics presented.
“I heard several students discussing during this project about the direction of graphing a slope,” she said.
McGowan and Strauch agree it’s clear the students love activities like this. McGowan has even shared this project with other teachers and has become more comfortable with technology herself, proving integrating technology in the classroom can be just as beneficial for teachers as it is for students.
