The Basics of QR Codes...
First off, you may be wondering...
What Are QR codes?
Reference: http://searchengineland.com/what-is-a-qr-code-and-why-do-you-need-one-27588
They look like this:
They come to us from Japan where they are very common. QR is short for Quick Response (they can be read quickly by a cell phone). They are used to take a piece of information from a transitory media and put it in to your cell phone. You may soon see QR Codes in a magazine advert, on a billboard, a web page or even on someone’s t-shirt. Once it is in your cell phone, it may give you details about that business (allowing users to search for nearby locations), or details about the person wearing the t-shirt, show you a URL which you can click to see a trailer for a movie, or it may give you a coupon which you can use in a local outlet.
The reason why they are more useful than a standard barcode is that they can store (and digitally present) much more data, including url links, geo coordinates, and text. The other key feature of QR Codes is that instead of requiring a chunky hand-held scanner to scan them, many modern cell phones can scan them. Go to Wikipedia for a more in depth description.
How does the cell phone read the code?
The cell phone needs a QR code reader, like this one from Kaywa. It takes literally 1 minute for someone with an iPhone or Android phone to find and install the reader.
How do you generate a code?
You can easily generate a QR code using a site like Kaywa.com or you can use the Open Source code to generate codes for you if you have a smart developer on hand. Google also has a tool — see our separate article about that:Close-Up With Google’s New QR Code Generator.
QR Codes are Everywhere! Try it! Create your own QR code!
So before you get started, it's important that you actually check out how to make a QR code and how to read one with your phone.
The following is a QR code creation site. There are tons out there! You can even colour code your QR if you like.
http://qrcode.kaywa.com/
Did you know you can create a QR code for just about anything?
Really you can! And we are going to use QR codes with learning key concepts about your Dystopian Novel.
As a Literature Circle Novel Study Group, you are going to be divided into "Novel Expert Roles". In your role, you will create a question that relates to your "Area of Novel Expertise" and provide the answer, but do this in the form of 2 separate QR codes (One question QR code, one answer QR code). Members of your group will "read" the QR codes using Smartphones (to accomodate everyone in our class, you will pair up to read the codes with someone else who has a Smartphone).
**All students with Smartphones will have to ensure that they the QR code reader app on their phone.
The "Novel Expert Roles"... These roles relate to important elements of studying novels.
* Protagonist Expert (Who is the protagonist? likes, dislikes? friends? goals? job?)
* Antagonist Expert (Who is the antagonist? There is more than likely more than one... Why are they the Antagonist?)
* Exposition and Initial Incident Expert (The Exposition is the setting of the novel, plus background information about the type of society and tone of the novel. The initial incident is the first incident or event that is key and gets the action moving in the novel.)
* Conflict Expert (Analyze the Internal and External Conflict... Do you remember the difference?)
* Climax Expert (Analyze the Climax... What is the key event that all the action or events have been building up towards? What seems to be the pivotal event that will change everything for the Protagonist?)
* Resolution and Author's Message Expert - (Analyze the ending and message.... How does it all end? What is the author's message or what does he or she want the audience to think about or learn?
Try it! Create your own QR code!
So before you get started, it's important that you actually check out how to make a QR code and how to read one with your phone.
The following is a QR code creation site. There are tons out there! You can even colour code your QR if you like.
http://www.qrstuff.com/
QR Code Extensions...
QR Code Blogging... Why not take your blogging to another level? You could generate a message that your character would create to pass along a secret message to another character, or even tell other members of your Dystopian Lit Circle group, what the author's message is via a QR code that you create. Create the code, save it as a jpeg, and post it to your kidblog account.
Other ELA - Arts Ed. Ideas... Why not write a message about life in the society you are studying, in Dystopian Lit Circles? Type several separate messages, that will become different QR codes. Create QR codes (you can change the colour of these codes), print them in colour (see me, about how to do that at school), then incorporate these messages into your Arts Ed. Dystopian Background for the Dystopian World Installation.
Why do We Love Dystopian Literature?
