QR Codes!

I am for any tool that can help me make connections with my students. I am definitely drawn to programs that are shiny and will create really fun products, but I often get mired down in the program itself and give up on it before it has helped me with the actual learning. For our tech tutorials, I wanted to show how I use technology to address a human issue in my classroom: bathroom usage.

Let me qualify that statement and say that I don't actually think that bathroom usage is an issue in general. I want students in my classes (in grades 9 and 11...so, young adults) to have agency over their bodies and learn to make decisions for themselves on issues of self-control. And. I also recognize that there are students who take advantage of that policy. As a result, some teachers institute a "no bathroom" policy in their classrooms (I will not do that) or offer tickets that students turn in and redeem for a finite number of quarterly trips to the bathroom (nope). My solution was to use a QR Code and create a digital bathroom pass. 

A "quick response" or QR code is a type of bar code that can be scanned by a mobile device that will direct the user to a specific URL or webpage. 

My first step was to create a quick google form for signing in and out of my classroom. 

This asks for student name, if they are signing in or out of class, and what class they are in. I then created a QR code for that google form, downloaded it, and created a fun digital sign using a template from slidescarnival to create a poster to print.

(Try it! use your phone's camera to scan the QR code to see my digital bathroom pass!)

I printed this on 11x17 paper, laminated it, and hung it by my door. At the start of the year I set the expectation that we stay in the classroom for the first and last ten minutes of class, but outside of those times, if they need the bathroom, they should use the sign to sign out of class, use the bathroom, and sign back in. It takes a little time for them to begin to be aware of when other folks are out of the room, and when they should wait, but they get there. 

The google form allows me to review who is in and out of class, and because it automatically records the time, I don't have to guess on how long someone has been out of my room. I can then use that data to have conversations with students. When I review the form responses, when I see that the same student is out of my room every day for 10 minutes, it allows me to have a conversation about why. My hope is that other teachers will do that this coming school year, and then we can start to notice trends across classes. 

Here is a link to my tutorial on using QR codes in class. In the video, I show another way I'll be using a google form paired with a QR code to drive engagement with my students. 

I would LOVE to hear from you on how else you might use QR codes in your classrooms! Leave a comment and let me know!