QR Codes



This presentation is the collaborative effort of Angie Oliverson, Jennifer Oldham, and Deb Martilla. As is most everything in life, it's still a work in progress. 


Most of our ideas started from things we learned from the following pages.

And various other sources we (and some other great librarians in our district!) collected here.



WHAT DO YOU NEED?

  • A mobile device WITH a camera ... and that's key, people. #amIspeakingfromexperience #nottelling
  • Some sort of QR code reader app ... doesn't really matter which. I-Nigma, Neo Reader, whatever!
  • If you don't have a mobile device and the codes are on books or papers you will need a webcam. If it is a code on a website you just need to install the Chrome extension QReader. It's not perfect (works much better on actual jpgs versus pdfs) but it is an alternative.
  • If you are creating your own QR codes there are lots of different websites or Chrome extensions. They all work pretty much the same. Just google or check some of the sites on the Pinterest board.


We'll start with QR Code Tours.

Pete the Cat Rockin' in my School Shoes
Of course while Ms. O is a devoted blogger she has not yet mastered the candid camera shot. So there are not any of the kiddos completing the tour. But rest assured Pete is an automatic win. THEY LOVED IT. Click on the pic to download from Google Drive.



Then we have a student CREATED tour of a LEED certified school. This is pretty cool because the students worked on researching the different facets of the campus. Not on a LEED campus (like most of us :/)? Never fear! The very same ideas could be used to guide visitors around your older, more historic site. Or maybe a "Leader" tour around the school with audio or video clips linked to QR codes around the building. Or maybe even a virtual tour around a book setting?



Another possibility is using QR codes in centers ... either as part of the activity or as a way to self-check answers.


Then of course BOOKS. There's the obvious link to book trailers or author websites when one was available ... or just the closest most related thing I could find.. Here are the 20 2013-2014 Bluebonnet Award nominees. The numbers correspond to the order of the books on the list. Print out a page on Avery 22805 Labels ... I paid $10 something on Amazon for 600.


  1. Aguirre, Jorge.  Giants Beware! (YouTube book trailer)
  2. Applegate, Katherine. The One and Only Ivan (YouTube book trailer)
  3. Burg, Shana.  Laugh with the Moon (YouTube book trailer)
  4. Chin, Jason. Coral Reefs (author webpage)
  5. Clifton, Lutricia. Freaky Fast Frankie Joe  (author webpage)
  6. Fern, Tracey. Barnum’s Bones (author webpage)
  7. Grandits, John. 10 Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want to Survive the School Bus (author webpage)
  8. Harris, R.P. Tua and the Elephant (author webpage) 
  9. Kalman, Maira. Looking at Lincoln (publisher webpage)
  10. Lorenzi, Natalie Dias. Flying the Dragon (YouTube book trailer)
  11. MacLachlan, Patricia. Waiting for the Magic (HAVEN'T FOUND SOMETHING FOR THIS ONE YET)
  12. Mlynowski, Sarah. Whatever After: Fairest of All (YouTube book trailer)
  13. Neri, G.  Ghetto Cowboy (YouTube book trailer)
  14. Palacio, R.J. Wonder (YouTube book trailer)
  15. Potter, Ellen. The Humming Room (YouTube book trailer)
  16. Scattergood, Augusta. Glory Be (YouTube book trailer)
  17. Shannon, David. Jangles: a BIG Fish Story (Scholastic interview with author)
  18. Sherry, Maureen. Walls Within Walls (HAVEN'T FOUND SOMETHING FOR THIS ONE YET)
  19. Sweet, Melissa. Balloons Over Broadway: the True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade (Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog interview)
  20. Varon, Sara. Bake Sale (author website)
  21. Atlanta Zoo page for Ivan the Gorilla
  22. Macy's Parade FAQs
  23. Nat Geo Great Barrier Reef video clip
  24. Elephant Orchestra video clip


Here are some little video clips to go with most of the 2X2s. A few book trailers, Sesame Street or National Geographic type 1-2 minute related clips, or "how to" video clips. Again, the numbers just correspond to their place in the list on the website. Still working on a better way to display these so that you know which codes go on which books. And still looking for a related video clip for a few of them.


  1. Allen, Kathryn Madeline.  A Kiss Means I Love You 
  2. Bingham, Kelly. Z is for Moose (YouTube book trailer)
  3. Cecil, Randy. Horsefly and Honeybee (YouTube Share It Maybe music video parody)
  4. DePalma, Mary Newell. Bow-Wow Wiggle-Waggle
  5. Elya, Susan Middleton. Fire! ¡Fuego! Brave Bomberos (old YouTube Sesame Street video clip)
  6. Frost, Helen. Step Gently Out (Nat Geo Kids MyShot video of insects)
  7. Gershator, Phillis & Green, Mim. Time for a Hug (Sesame Street Papa Bear's Hug video clip)
  8. Jenkins, Emily. Lemonade in Winter (Cooking with Kids How to Make Strawberry Lemonade YouTube clip)
  9. Klassen, Jon. This Is Not My Hat (YouTube book trailer)
  10. LaRochelle, David.  It’s a Tiger! (Nat Geo video clip on tigers)
  11. Mack, Jeff.  Frog and Fly (Nat Geo Bullfrogs Eat Everything video clip)
  12. Mack, Jeff.  Good News, Bad News
  13. Mortensen, Lori. Cindy Moo (Sesame Street YouTube Hey Diddle Diddle video clip)
  14. Norman, Kim. I Know a Wee Piggy
  15. Reagan, Jean. How to Babysit a Grandpa
  16. Reynolds, Aaron. Creepy Carrots (YouTube video clip of Peter Brown talking about Creepy Carrots)
  17. Schwartz, Cory Rosen. The Three Ninja Pigs (YouTube book trailer)
  18. Sutton, Sally. Demolition (Sesame Street YouTube clip about machines)
  19. Thomas, Jan.  Let’s Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy (Sesame Street YouTube video clip of "Forgetful Jones")
  20. Whamond, Dave. Oddrey
  21. moose video
  22.  
  23.  
  24.  

And finally a sheet of Wonderopolis QR codes. For now it's just the QR codes to put on related books. Been thinking about combining them with the Wonder signs, though. So maybe stay tuned for that. ;)


  1. Why do zebras have stripes?
  2. Which bird flies the fastest?
  3. How hungry are hippos?
  4. What is the largest shark?
  5. Why can't penguins fly?
  6. Who invented escalators?
  7. How old is origami?
  8. What causes an avalanche?
  9. What is a wind farm?
  10. Why are rainforests important?
  11. Where is the Milky Way?
  12. How do seeds sprout?
  13. Where can you find tundra?
  14. Who discovered electricity?
  15. Where is the largest library in the world?
  16. Why do giraffes have long necks?
  17. Why should we remember the Alamo?
  18. What do animals squirrel away for winter?
  19. What is a hurricane?
  20. Why does a strawberry have seeds on the outside?
  21. What is the difference between dolphins and porpoises?
  22. Did George Washington really have wooden teeth?
  23. Do all birds fly south for the winter?
  24. Why do spiders spin webs?



7 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh - I love you! I don't know how I never found your blog until now but you rock. The Bluebonnet/2x2 QR activities you shared will save me hours, thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. You are ever so welcome! And I promise they will be 100% completed as soon as possible (if you look closely they are only about 90 ... we'll say 94% complete). :) Waiting on a video clip or two to get posted. And a couple I just need to DO.

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  2. These are incredible. I see so many possibilities! I am a middle school teacher studying to become a librarian, and there are so many options for both the library and the classroom. Thanks a bunch! :)

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    Replies
    1. I'm so glad! We tried to make our presentation something that could be adapted to different levels.

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  3. HI,

    I am an Australian teacher-librarian just looking into using QR Codes. You have given me some great ideas. Well done

    ReplyDelete
  4. We used your Tour around your school program last year with kindergarten and they LOVED it! However, we are unable to get it to work this year. Can you offer suggestions on how we can use it again?
    Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. It's a Dropbox problem ... they changed something and I haven't made the time to figure out a new place to save all the audio clips. It means a need for all new QR codes because the current ones lead to dead links and I can't bring them back to the same URL. If I make a new one I'll repost it but for now it's defunct. Sorry!

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