QR CODES

Jamie B. Nicholson
Kennesaw State University
8/26/14
Advisor: Jo Williamson
Enrollment Date: Spring 2013

QR CODES

2
Part B: Capstone Report Outline and Acceptance Criteria

Description of the Capstone Experience

At the beginning of the capstone experience, a plan was in place, a calendar (Appendix
A) was made, and the teacher had a very clear idea of how the capstone was going to go. She
had also read this quote during research and thought, how can I help change this: Although
technology use has doubled in the last decade, Mueller, Wood, Willoughby, Ross, and Specht
(2008) reported that teacher use of technology is often at a low level; technology is not being
used as an instructional tool to engage 21st century learners in meaningful learning (Ertmer &
Ottenbriet-Leftwich, 2010) (OBannon, Thomas, 2014). What the teacher learned was that
even with technology tools at our fingertips, teachers still tend to shy away from real
technology facilitation. And that no matter how well planned out something is, things will still
change, not go as expected, but in the end can still teach us something. The original plan
involved the entire staff taking part in professional development presentations, assisting with the
data collection, and being a voice in the reflection/evaluation piece. The first professional
development was about a month later than planned, but did involve the entire staff. Leaving that
presentation the teacher heard words of excitement from her co-workers and had a great initial
survey to start going over to find out more about the wants and needs of her co-workers when it
came to technology facilitation. With a quick turn-around, the teacher sent emails out to every
grade level relaying her plan for their specific grade according to their survey needs. In the
email, it specifically asked for the standards that were being taught so the teacher would be able
to align the lesson plans with QR codes to exactly what was being taught in class. 3 out of 6
grade levels responded positively. 1 did not respond at all and the other 2 requested that the
teacher follow up with them once state testing was over. What the 1st grade teacher forgot to
take into account was that the intermediate grade level teachers were already overwhelmed
with CRCT prep lessons; trying to add anything new to the mix at that point just wasnt going to

QR CODES

work for them. The teacher did receive positive feedback from her own grade level, 1st and 2nd
and 3rd grade. So the lesson planning began. (See Appendix B)
The teacher was excited about being able to help teachers implement technology into
their lessons and had several ideas for each grade level already made. 2nd grade lessons were
ready first. The teacher didnt want to just send the lessons to the teachers and expect them to
know how to get it done, so meetings were set-up to go over the plans and answer any
questions the teachers may have. Unfortunately, even with several back and forth email
communications, the 2nd grade team was never able to meet all together with the teacher.
Lessons were still given to the 2nd grade team, but thorough feedback was not attained. Next,
the teacher was asked by the 3rd grade team to come sit down with them during a planning
meeting. They presented some materials and lessons they already had and wanted to know
how to incorporate QR codes into these. The teacher came prepared with remediation and
extension activities that used QR codes. Printing out multiple QR codes, cutting them up and
putting them around the room, adding them to worksheets or including them in homework tasks
can lend themselves to a variety of engaging activities which cater to students different learning
styles. (Dale, Exploring the Educational Potential of QR Codes) The 3rd grade team
implemented these strategies and had great success.
The majority of this project was done in 1st grade, the teachers grade level that year.
Lessons for 1st grade ranged from math scavenger hunts to the students creating their own QR
codes to use as labels for a science lesson. Crawfords article suggest activities like the
students going on a scavenger hunt, using QR codes at Parent-Teacher Conferences, and
linking books and the internet are just the beginning uses of QR codes in Education. Because
the teacher implementing this capstone project was on the 1st grade team and they were
required to meet once a week as a team, she took this time to get their feedback, in person, on
how the QR lessons went in her teammates classrooms. During these sessions a common
theme that was heard was the level of engagement that these lessons were attaining. Students

QR CODES

were using the iPads as tools for their learning and loving it. The teachers also reported feeling
more comfortable and even excited about the use of the iPads in their classrooms. These two
items were initial goals of the capstone project. The teacher wanted to show her co-workers the
potential behind the iPads and the ease of use that came along with it. The teacher had also
originally set out to determine if the QR code lessons would help increase student
understanding of certain standards, but what she ran into were time constraints. Teachers were
unable to go back to already taught standards and do lessons again with QR codes because
what they had to teach now was already pushing their students and time to a max. So the
project was revamped to include new standards with QR codes that could be introductory
lessons, formative assessment lessons, and summative lessons instead of just review lessons.
This particular project was done at an elementary school that had 2 iPad carts for the entire
school to share. Since then the teacher has moved to a school that has an iPad cart for every 2
grade levels. This makes the access of the iPads more attainable. She will continue the project
at the new school as a 3rd grade teacher this time, hoping to gain participation from her 3rd grade
teammates first. Ramsden (2008) makes the statement that technology QR codes are evolving
rapidly. This is evident from the increasing number of activities that can be achieved using a QR
code (Ramsden, 2008). What the teacher was able to accomplish in a 1st grade classroom with
majority ESOL and EIP students gave her a huge sense of accomplishment and
encouragement to continue with the QR codes in her future classrooms. The passion she has
for technology in 21st century classrooms hopes to be contagious.

Discussion and/or Reflection

From this capstone experience the teacher learned that technology facilitation and
leadership is rewarding, but also challenging. Being able to directly affect the way students are
using technology in the classroom is a powerful tool. This capstone experience required the

QR CODES

teacher to use the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that she has learned in becoming a better
technology leader through the entire process. Her knowledge was shared through the
development and implementation of a shared vision, research and recommendations for
innovations in sustaining technology implementation, collaboration with teachers and
administrators, and through the development of professional learning that deepens the teachers
content knowledge and pedagogical skills. The teacher modeled her skills of using digital tools
and resources to support student needs, technology-related best practices for achieving
equitable access, expanding student opportunities through digital content and blended learning,
and the management of these tools. The teacher was able to keep a disposition that was
positive with her co-workers by helping them implement technology-enhanced learning
experiences aligned with student content standards and involve their students in authentic
learning experiences by using research-based best practices in instructional design. The
recommendations this teacher would suggest to anyone out there who plans on embarking on a
similar project is to generate buy-in from the administration down, in order to be more
successful in the implementation of such a project. Teachers feel very overwhelmed already
and when introducing something new, it needs to have relevance to how it will make the
teachers workload more manageable while also directly relating to the content standards.
Teachers dont want just one more thing on their plate. In education, there are also still
barriers to technology integration that include lack of access, time, training, technology
problems, teachers attitude, and school climate. (OBannon and Thomas, 2014).Through the
reflection of this project, the teacher realizes that being a technology leader is going to come
with many moments of resistance. Technology facilitation can be a scary endeavor and as a
technology leader your ability to put these fears to rest will directly impact your ability to affect
change in your school. A final piece of advice is to be a leader of your project by leading by
example and be there to support co-workers whenever they need it. When co-workers began to
see what this teachers class was creating, their interest grew stronger. When they came to the

QR CODES

teacher, no matter how late it was after the start of the project, the teacher showed them her
positive disposition and her excitement for their technology journey to begin in their own
classroom. You have to let people come around to the idea in their own time and when they do,
show them the support and encouragement they need to feel like they can do it.

QR CODES

7
Appendix

A. Calendar
January 2014-

January 2014-

February 2014-

February 2014-

March 2014-

present 1
professional
development
presentation on QR
codes.

recruit teachers to
be a part of my
capstone project.
Have teachers sign
up for lessons.

begin writing
lessons for teachers
to implement
according to the
need they wrote
down on the sign up
sheet.

teachers will be
implementing
lessons and
getting/giving
feedback. I will use
the feedback to
make future lessons
better.

present 2
professional
development
presentation on QR
codes with recent
data from
classrooms and new
ways to use QRs in
the classroom.

March 2014-

April 2014-

May 2014-

continue writing,
implementing, and
getting feedback on
lessons. Write
assessments for
teachers to give in
the focus areas of
the QR lessons.

with the teachers

who have been
implementing the
lessons, give them a
survey on needs,
wants, and
observations of
lessons.

give final
presentation with
the data that was
collected from
teachers and
students who
participated.

st

nd

Rough
draft of a
timeline.

B. Sample Lesson Plans

Kindergarten ELA Lesson with QR codes
ELA Block
Standard: ELACCKRF3.c Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in
decoding words. Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is,
are, do, does).
E.Q.: How can knowing high frequency words by sight help me read?
Vocabulary: sight words, phonics, decoding
Opening: TW introduce the students to the QR reader app on the iPad. TW model how to use the
app to scan the QR codes that have previously been hung around the room and then chose a
student to also model scanning. TW explain that once the student scans the QR code the sight
word that pops up will have to be read out loud by them and found on their recording sheet.

QR CODES

Work Session: SW share an iPad with a partner and begin their QR code sight word scavenger
hunt. SW take turns scanning the QR codes and then reading them to their partner. Each partner
will have their own recording sheet to complete.
Differentiation: TW group the students so that a stronger reader is with a weaker one so the
sight words are more likely to be read correctly.
Closing: Under the document camera the teacher will go through the class set of sight words.
Students will say the word when it flashes onto the screen. TW explain that these QR codes will
be left hanging around the room and the scavenger hunt will become a word work center activity.

First Grade Science Lesson with QR codes

Science Block ~ Lesson 1
Standard S1L1c-Identify the parts of a plant: Root, Stem, Leaf, Flower
E.Q.: Why do plants have different parts?
Vocabulary: Plant, root, stem, leaf, flower
Opening: Connect lesson to the activity we did involving real plants.
http://www.brainpopjr.com/science/plants/partsofaplant/ Watch video on parts of a plant.
Work Session: Students will create a flip book of the different parts of a plant. On the outside
will be a picture of a flower. When you unfold the flaps, there will be a QR code. During work
session students will use an iPad to scan QR codes that have been previously created by the
teacher. After scanning the QR code the student will have to glue it down under the appropriate
flap for that part of the plant. Students will repeat this process until all parts of the plant have
been labeled with a QR code.

QR CODES

Differentiation: Students who know the different parts and functions will create their own QR
codes on the classroom computers. They will type the name of the part AND its function into a
QR code generator (QRstuff.com) and use their own made QR codes in their flip books. Teacher
will assist with the copying of the QR codes to a word document and printing them.
Closing: Choose 2 students to share their flip book. Use iPad to scan answers. All flipbooks will
be shared in the hallway to create further interaction between the flipbooks and student learning
and interest.

Science Block ~ Lesson 2

Standard S1L1c-Identify the parts of a plant: Root, Stem, Leaf, Flower
E.Q.: Why do plants have different parts?
Vocabulary: Plant, root, stem, leaf, flower
Opening: Teacher will model how the students will complete the recording page for the parts of
a plant QR code scavenger hunt. Before the start of the lesson the teacher hung up QR codes
around the classroom. Each QR code will link the students to a different resource on parts of the
plant e.g. PebbleGo video, time elapsed YouTube video of a sunflower growing, interactive game
on a website.
Work Session: Students will use iPads to scan QR codes that will link them to different
resources on parts of plant. When they are done exploring the link that the QR code took them to,
they will write down one thing they learned from that source on a recording paper. On the
Interactive White Board will be the EQs for the lesson to help students generate facts that they
should be taking away from each resource.

QR CODES

10

Differentiation: Teacher will work with students who need assistance creating a sentence for
what they learned from the resource and connecting it to the EQs for the lesson.
Closing: Choose 2 students to share their recording pages on what they learned today. Their
recording page will be shared under the document camera.

Second Grade Social Studies Lessons with QR codes

Social Studies Block ~ Lesson 1 (Will take 3 4 days to complete)
Standard: SS2H1a Identify the contributions made by these historic figures [Jackie Robinson
(sports); Martin Luther King, Jr. (civil rights)]; SS2G2d Trace examples of travel and movement
of these historic figures and their ideas across time.
E.Q.: What are the contributions that MLK made that affected our lives and how we live them
today? How did MLKs ideas change across time?
Vocabulary: timeline, civil rights, segregation, equality, protest
Opening: Teacher will introduce the students to a timeline on MLK from the websites:
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/srs216.html , http://www.drmartinlutherking.net/martin-lutherking-timeline.php , and
http://www.softschools.com/timelines/martin_luther_king_jr_timeline/58/ . During the
presentation of each timeline the teacher will ask the students what they like and dislike about
each timeline. The last website link is the most interactive timeline. TW ask the students If you
were walking down the hall and saw any of these timelines would you stop and look at them?
Answers will probably be no, TW will ask why. After hearing from several students, TW present
the timeline project to the class and how they will be creating their own timelines that will be
much more interactive and interesting with the inclusion of QR codes and pictures.

QR CODES

11

Work Session: TW put the class into groups of 4 and assign each group with a certain time
frame. Ex. A group may have the years 1929 1948. Each group will research their time frame
with books, the internet, and previously learned information to find out what MLK was doing
during this time. The groups will then create QR codes that link to this information, whether it be
a YouTube video, website, or information the students typed up themselves. Printed QR codes,
along with printed pictures or drawings, will then be glued down onto the class timeline (large
sheet of butcher paper with a line already drawn through the middle), and the dates will be
written in by each group.
Differentiation: SW have access to several resources in order to research their time frame. SW
be in leveled groups.
Closing: Each group will use an iPad to scan the QR codes on the interactive timeline and watch
how their timeline comes to life.

Third Grade, Social Studies Lesson ~ Lesson 1 (writing of report will take several days)
Standard: SOC.3.SS3H2 The student will discuss the lives of Americans who expanded people's
rights and freedoms in a democracy. SOC.3.SS3H2.a Paul Revere (independence), Frederick
Douglass (civil rights), Susan B. Anthony (women's rights), Mary McLeod Bethune (education),
Franklin D. Roosevelt (New Deal and World War II), Eleanor Roosevelt (United Nations and
human rights), Thurgood Marshall (civil rights), Lyndon B. Johnson (Great Society and voting
rights), and Cesar Chavez (workers' rights). SOC.3.SS3H2.b Explain social barriers, restrictions,
and obstacles that these historical figures had to overcome and describe how they overcame
them.

QR CODES

12

E.Q.: How did FDR expand peoples rights and freedoms in a democracy? What obstacles did
FDR have to overcome? How did he overcome them?
Vocabulary: New Deal, WWII, democracy, freedom, obstacles
Opening: TW explain that the students will be conducting research for their informational report
on FDR a little differently. SW be using iPads and QR codes to gather information needed to
write their report. Some of the QR codes will link them to a biography on FDR and others will
link them to questions that need to be answered in their informational reports.
Work Session: SW scan QR codes with an iPad and record on their graphic organizer
information they want to include in their report. When students have scanned enough QR codes
to fill out their graphic organizer they will begin writing their rough draft on a netbook inside
Microsoft word.
Differentiation: Some of the QR codes have enrichment activities for students who are ready to
go deeper into the standard. The enrichment activities include writing ideas of using the format
of a letter to a historical figure from the point of view of FDR to report their information learned.
Closing: SW share their completed reports. TW ask the students to choose the top 3 reports by
using rubrics and the top three will be posted in the classroom blog.

QR CODES

13
References

Crawford, C. (2012). Ways to Use QR Codes for Education. Scholastic.com, Accessed on

December 10, 2013.
Dale, J. (2013). Exploring the Educational Potential of QR Codes. Connect Learning Today.com,
Accessed on December 10, 2013.
December 10, 2013.
OBannon, B.W., & Thomas, K. (2014). Teacher perceptions of using mobile phones in the
classroom: Age matters!. Computers & Education, 74, 15 25.
Ramsden, A, and Jordan, L. (2009). Are students ready for QR codes?: Findings from a student
survey at the University of Bath. University of Bath. http://opus.bath.as.uk/. Accessed on
July 8, 2014.