Using QR Codes in Math Class (Part 1)

QR Codes - those funny little things that you see everywhere - on packaging, in magazines, in MATH CLASS??


I have been using QR Codes over the last 12 months in my math and physics classes.  The students and I LOVE them!  What can you do with them??  Here are 5 ways that I have used them in my class.

1) Post the homework answers on the board in the classroom.  - When possible, I post one big QR Code at the front of the classroom.  When students enter the room, they scan the QR Code and they have all the answers to the homework.  They can check as soon as they enter the room - AND, my favorite part, I don't have to read all the answers AND I don't have to spend 10 minutes answering What was number 9, how about 12, what was 9 again…UGH!

2) Use task cards with QR Codes - This is seriously a favorite with students.  I make 10 - 12 problems on task cards for students to use.  Here is an example of a task card for Algebra that students can use to work on solving systems of equations.

Students work the problem and then scan the QR Code to see if they are correct.  They get immediate feedback AND they get to pull out their technology in math class - COOL!

3) If you are absent - If you know you are going to be absent, you could make a QR Code that students can scan as they enter the classroom.  They can get the directions for the class period and start working right away!

4) Use the QR Code as the answer to the problem of the day - If you use a Problem of the Day, put a BIG QR Code on the same screen as the problem.  As you project the problem, students can work it and then when you give them permission, they can get out their phone and scan the answer.  Here is an example of a calculus problem of the day that I use in my class.

5) Link the students to something - If you want the students to go to a specific website, it is such a pain to give them the website and watch them type everything in.  Inevitably, someone doesn't type something right, and ends up somewhere else.  Websites are often long and cumbersome!  Instead of having students type in the website, make a QR Code that leads them directly to it!  Make it big and project it, and students can go right to the place you want them to go.  This is also useful if you want to give students a source of information that they can use to help them with homework.  Scan the QR Code and they are right there!