Making Noise with QR Codes and Chrome

Image result for monkey with a tool belt and the noisy problem

After reading, Monkey with a Tool belt and the Noisy Problem by Chris Monroe, students were engaged in a learning activity that focused on sounds. In the book, Chico can not figure out what is making the “Arooga Boom Boom Clang Clang” sound in his tree house. He sets out to find the sound and ends up finding an elephant stuck in his laundry shoot. Students loved the problem solving and the introduction of a new character. Clark the elephant got lost and landed in Chico’s tree house instead of Elsa’s.

The STEAM learning extension included content in making, music, art, technology and engineering. Third and fourth grade students used their Chromebooks to complete their projects. These classes created a sound using materials in the Maker Studio and recorded them on the app Mic Note. The process of going to the web store and adding an app to the drive was all part of the instruction. Students then learned how to export the sound and make the copied link shareable. This link was then placed in the QR code generator that they had downloaded. Once the QR code was generated, students copied the image and placed their finished product on the google doc located in the STEAM google classroom.

Once QR codes were printed and cut out, they were placed on Chico’s tree house. Understanding the purpose of listening and how sounds are all around us encouraged students to place the QR code according to what room in Chico’s house he might hear their particular sound.

Problem solving, learning new technology, creating and producing a product to share with the school at large was an exciting learning experience.

QR Codes Static Vs Dynamic

QR Codes are everywhere!!!  They were created as a step up from a bar code.  QR stands for QUICK RESPONSE.  It contains data in both vertical and horizontal directions, whereas a bar code has only one direction of data, usually the vertical one. A QR code can also  hold more data/information. It is easily digested by scanning equipment, and because it has potentially twice the amount of data as bar code, it can increase the effectiveness of such scanning.

A basic fundamental of QR codes is that the pattern of modules in the QR code image is a direct graphical representation of the data it contains. That’s just the way QR codes work and is the essence of the algorithm that creates the QR code image.

Static QR Code: The actual destination website URL is placed directly into the QR code and can’t be modified.

Dynamic QR Code: A short URL is placed into the QR code which then transparently re-directs the user to the intended destination website URL, with the short URL redirection destination URL able to be changed after the QR code has been created.
Dynamic QR codes greatly extend the useful life of a single QR code since, once published, where it sends the user to can be changed at will without it having to be replaced with a new QR code image every time the destination changes. A single QR code image can be deployed permanently in-the-wild and then simply re-tasked as and when required – link it to your own website this week, a YouTube video next week, your Facebook page the week after that, etc, etc. Or to different offer or coupon pages on your own website as each new promotional program is released over time.

They’re also handy when you have a temporary “placeholder” URL that will be changed once the final content or URL location is ready to go but the QR code needs to be created ahead of time, if the actual URL of your content changes.  In other words, great for those of us that constantly change things, create new places/sites, and like to explore new ways.

Twitter QR Code Bingo

Click Here to access my template. You will need to make a copy of the spreadsheet to your Google account.

This will create random bingo boards that will tweet out the question when scanned with a QR code reader. Have students then append something to the tweet.

I used it by having participants at a conference submit a one sentence fact about themselves. As an ice breaker they went around and tried to find who the person was who fit that fact. Scanning the QR code once you find the person will auto generate a tweet with that fact. The participant would then append the twitter handle of who matches that fact to the end of the fact, thus allowing others in the room to get to know everyone.

For a classroom I might have a short question followed by a colon : as my “fact” so that when a student scans the qr code they respond with a short answer. Students watching the twitter feed will get the answers and can fill in their board, see who gets Bingo first!

I used http://zeek.com/create-a-status-update-url-for-twitter/ to create a short URL that will auto tweet a status. I then copied and pasted that URL into a QR code generator http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ to get the QR code. Right click on the qr code to get the image address.

**Find this via Twitter (Original Post was by Alice Keeler)