My daughter didn't realize until she was in college that Alaska wasn't an island. This is why I have a US Map and a World Map posted side by side in my classroom. One of the workstations I do is have QR codes that link to earth/life science videos on the wall. I use string to link from the QR code to the location on the map. If it is a US Video the QR code I run the string to both maps. Sometime around November a kid asks why Alaska is next to Hawaii on the US map and by Canada on the World Map.
In her school they used pull down maps rather than globes and they would have a picture of the continental United States with a little box at the upper left showing Alaska and a little box at the bottom left showing Hawaii. Since she knew Hawaii was a group of islands and was therefore separated from the land mass of the rest of the U.S., she had always assumed that Alaska was one too and that's why it wasn't shown 'connected' to the rest of the U.S.
What is a QR code? I can't find it in a search. Thanks.
They are like barcodes. With a reader on a phone or tablet with a camera they can be used to go directly to a web site, plain text, phone number, map etc. They are often used for advertising. Since I teach 2nd grade it makes it easy for me to have the kids go to a specific site without either
1. Having to put a link on almost 20 Ipads in the grade
2. Risk the kids mistyping and getting frustrated with the activity.
At the end of the year we have multicultural week. 2nd grade does South America each year. One of the questions we are supposed to answer is what is the environment like and how does that effect the culture of the people. We focused on nations that are part of the rainforest this year. SO we turned the hall into a rainforest. The kids used videos to access some information because it is hard to find 2nd/3rd grade reading material on topics like this - and the library is closed at this point for inventory and to hold all the textbooks. So each group brought me the link to their most informative video, I made the QR Code and printed it out. Then the kids put that up with their project in the hall.
Every grade brought their kids with Ipads and the kids BYOD* that had cameras and an app. They spent a good deal of time in our hall exploring. Then we had the future principals group meet at our school. They came into our hall, but didn't have the QR readers on their phone. A couple of my kids, and a kids from next door saw them. They came in got our Ipads (that were charging at the time), took them out and taught the administrators how to use the QR codes. http://www.qrstuff.com/
for info on QR codes
*BYOD - Bring Your Own Device. Kids can with parental permission bring their own laptops, tablets, Ipods, phones or other internet connected devices to use at school. We have guest wifi they can use. They are responsible for any data charges, purchases made and for keeping track of their devices. If they use it inappropriately it is taken up, parents must come get it, and that child is "grounded" from bringing electronics for a period of time decided on by the teacher and parent.