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Advice from the Harvard Graduate School of Education about AI in the classroom. That includes stop pretending that it doesnt exist, use AI alongside your students, teach students how to ask ChatGPT tool questions, and use generative AI tools to spark imagination.

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Although there is a huge amount of interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the consumer world, particularly since the release of OpenAI's free ChatGPT program last November, in the hallowed halls of academia the response has been more wary. Concerns abound about academic integrity. There are also worries about how AI-generated content can be biased, inaccurate, and sometimes contain entirely false information, dubbed "hallucinations."

The cautious response is to be expected according to Houman Harouni, lecturer on education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a former elementary and high school teacher. He has compassion for educators trying to grapple with a rapidly shifting world shaped by machine learning.

"Technology creates a shock," he explains. "This shock is sometimes of a magnitude that we cannot even understand it, in the same way that we still haven't absorbed the sharp shock of the mobile phone."

Harouni has long wrestled with the impact of cutting-edge technology on education, including experimenting in his own classroom, and is convinced that when it comes to teaching "the medium is part of the message." He believes that getting school students and those in higher ed to engage with virtual worlds is essential.

"Where we want to get to is a place where you're dancing with it, dancing with robots," he says.

If the idea of waltzing with a robot creates apprehension for educators, Harouni has some advice :
1) Stop pretending that it doesn't exist
Educators must "help the next generation face the reality of the world and develop instruments and ways of navigating this reality with integrity," Harouni says. Students are well aware that technologies such as ChatGPT exist and are already experimenting with them on their own, but they need guidance about how to use them responsibly.

Teacher education and professional development programs should not ignore generative artificial intelligence either.
2) Use AI alongside your students
Engage with generative AI tools with your students in person, when possible. Otherwise, share AI-generated responses to questions during class time and ask students to consider them or have students experiment with the technology at home, document their experiences, and share them with the class.
3) Teach students how to ask the ChatGPT tool questions
"The educator's job is to understand what opportunities are left open beside the technology," Harouni says.

Teach students to do what artificial intelligence cannot do. For example, unlike robots, we can ask ourselves questions and that is what students need to be trained in: to know how to ask questions and to learn how to critique their own questions, frameworks, and the answers generated by AI, he says.

Students can start with topics and questions that they are interested in and ask ChatGPT for answers, he suggests. The knack is then getting them excited about asking follow-up questions. Harouni uses a personal experience with his 10-year-old stepdaughter and his newborn baby to illustrate his point. When his stepdaughter asked him why he kept telling her to be careful with the baby, Harouni turned to ChatGPT to help her to get to the bottom of her question.

"My creativity as the teacher or the parent at that moment is to say, 'What is it that you're really trying to ask? What is it that you really want to know?'"

While ChatGPT churned out a "whole bunch of answers about the fragility of the baby," with some patience, Harouni helped his stepdaughter discover the question that she truly wanted to ask which was what she could safely do with the new baby. "At the moment that the exploration [with AI] ends with the answer, you know that your work as a teacher begins," he explains.
4) Use generative AI tools to spark the imagination
One frequent concern about generative artificial intelligence is that students will use it to cheat and avoid the hard work of thinking for themselves, but Harouni says that tools like ChatGPT should really challenge teachers and professors to reassess the assignments they give their students.

"You have to stop thinking that you can teach exactly the way you used to teach when the basic medium has changed," he explains. If students can turn to ChatGPT or other AI language models for quick and easy answers then there is a problem with the lesson, Harouni believes.

"We have to create assignments that push [students] to the point where they have to question what is the framework that is being used here and what would it mean for me to radically change this framework," he says.

Harouni recently wrote about how he used ChatGPT to spur higher-level thinking among his students at HGSE when he presented them with a challenging case study that had no easy solutions. The students' initial responses were no better than the chatbot's ideas. Instead "it was after ChatGPT reflected to the students their failure of imagination that they could begin to think of options that they, or any automatic language scrawler, would not have readily reached for," he explained in a co-authored article for Wired.

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Embracing Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom

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Generative AI tools can reflect our failure of imagination and that is when the real learning starts

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There are so many AI tools out there - and teachers do not have the time to look through the entire world wide web, so edutopia created 9 tips for AI in the classroom and how you can use it. My favorite is bringing students drawings to life! AI can animate student sketches!

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Artificial intelligence (AI) tools exploded onto the scene in the last school year. From textbots like ChatGPT to image-generating platforms like Stable Diffusion-and the dozens of AI products marketed specifically to teachers-it's difficult to keep track of what's out there.

Even harder is finding the time to evaluate which of these tools are actually useful.

What does seem clear is that AI is here to stay, and today's students will enter a world where they'll be expected to engage with it. So it is critical for students to understand the capabilities-and limitations-of AI tools, even as those capabilities rapidly evolve. With teachers' help, students can learn not to rely on AI, but rather to use it in a responsible way that supports their learning process, and teachers can request transparency and accountability whenever students use these tools on their own.

Teachers are already integrating AI into the classroom in fun, engaging, and academically rich ways-by having students fact-check ChatGPT's responses, for instance, or by using AI images as writing prompts in English or discussion starters in history class.

Here are nine AI-based lesson ideas to try across different grade levels and subject areas.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Courtesy of Meta AI Research
1. Bring Student Drawings to Life: Young kids love to sketch, and AI can animate their sketches-and introduce them to the power of the technology in the process. During a presentation at the 2023 conference of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), learning coach Doug Sanders encouraged teachers to check out the Animated Drawings tool from Meta AI Research. Simply take a photo of a student's latest sketch and upload it to the site, and the AI can quickly have it perform dozens of different actions-walking, dancing, throwing out some boxing jabs, and more.

Encourage students to craft a story around the animations. Why, for example, is their drawing running wildly across the room? What is it running from? For the tool to work, the drawing must be vaguely humanoid, so be sure to guide students toward drawing humanlike figures.

Brenneise asks students to write about what the image makes them see, hear, touch, smell, and taste. From there, students can dig deeper and spend some time writing the image's backstory. (How did a goat get to the beach in the first place?) To better connect this activity to content learning, ask students to include recent vocabulary words in their writing-or prompt the AI to include relevant concepts in the image itself, like "fossils," "crystals," or "migration."

3. Use AI Responses to Spur Scientific Thinking: AI language models typically do a decent job of answering basic questions about science. But their accuracy rate is far from 100 percent, which can be a good way to engage elementary students in critical thinking.

In a full-class session, teachers can pull up ChatGPT and ask students what questions they have related to the current unit. For example, if a student is still confused about cloud formation, the teacher could prompt ChatGPT: "Please explain how clouds form to a third-grade audience." Next, the class can dissect ChatGPT's response as a group with questions like "What did it leave out? What are people still confused about? And what parts of the answer might not be accurate?"

To investigate further, encourage students to spend time searching through class resources or reputable online sources to confirm or deny ChatGPT's scientific claims. "By allowing students the opportunity to assess the products that AI generates, we can prompt their learning and their development of critical thinking skills," writes educator Sunaina Sharma.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

4. Find the Faults in AI-Generated Historical Images: AI image generators can help students envision what historical scenes-like the signing of the Constitution or Lincoln's Gettysburg Address-might have looked like, suggested educational technologist and history educator James Beeghley at this year's ISTE conference. But Beeghley noted that these images are likely to be full of inaccuracies.

Unreliable AI images can be a great jumping-off point for a fun history class activity. On the class screen, pull up an AI image generator like Bing's image creator, Craiyon, or Canva, and type in a prompt related to the time period you're covering in class, like "Sacagawea guiding Lewis and Clark"; then switch the "style" setting to "photograph" for maximum realism. (Since AI image platforms can take a couple of minutes to produce an output, try doing this before class.)

Ask students to analyze the output using what they've already learned or have them do additional research to identify elements of the image that have no basis in reality-like anachronistic clothing or technology or a biased presentation of particular groups.
Courtesy of Microsoft Bing
5. Use AI Math Tools to See All Sides of a Problem: Many math teachers know-and curse-the name Photomath, a powerful AI-based app that can scan and solve a math problem from a photograph. But there are ways to use Photomath to engage students in deeper learning, according to Valerie Bennett, an assistant professor of STEM education curriculum and instruction at Clark Atlanta University.

One option is to have students compare their approach to solving problems with an AI approach, Bennett told EdWeek. Teachers can give students a set of problems and ask them to use pen and paper to solve them first, before feeding the problems into Photomath. Because Photomath runs through the steps to reaching a solution, Bennett said, students can contrast the tool's process-and results-with their own.

"Did the platforms come up with different answers? Different methods? Which is most efficient?" Answering these questions will help students think more deeply about different approaches to solving problems and help them refine their own methods.

6. Learn About Voice From ChatGPT's Imitations of Famous Authors: Help students better understand the concept of voice in writing, and how well-known writers cultivate one, by asking ChatGPT to attempt to imitate authors' styles.

For example, ask ChatGPT to write two poems about your school's mascot in the style of Shakespeare and Maya Angelou or two speeches about the impact of climate change by Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. Ask students to contrast ChatGPT's imitations of various authors and dissect the ways that word choice, narrative techniques, or literary devices like alliteration are used by specific writers to help craft a distinct voice. You can also challenge students to find any stylistic choices in the output that the original author probably wouldn't have made.

Similarly, you can have students contrast a ChatGPT-generated "rousing, 272-word speech in the style of Abraham Lincoln about the lives lost on the battlefield" with the genuine Gettysburg Address. The AI's imitation, in most cases, will be much less impactful than the real author or speaker, and you can ask students to identify the literary techniques that made the original piece so masterful (and ChatGPT's version so "meh").

HIGH SCHOOL
Courtesy of Hello History
7. Chat With Historical Figures: To resurrect dead historical figures and attempt to approximate what they might have said in conversation, educational technology professor Maureen Yoder encouraged teachers to check out Hello History during a presentation at 2023's ISTE conference.

The ChatGPT-powered app lets you chat with dozens of historical figures, from Cleopatra to Einstein. Hello History is free but has a 20-message daily limit, so try using ChatGPT itself for longer conversations. Have students prompt it: "For the rest of this conversation, role-play as [historical figure]," then ask it a variety of questions.

You can expect the outputs to be full of inaccuracies-either outright biographical mistakes or misrepresentations about what the historical figure really believed. Challenge students to take what the chatbot says and analyze it carefully. What did the AI get right and wrong about the figure's life and beliefs? They can answer this based on what they've already learned in the class or perform independent research to verify ChatGPT's claims.

8. Speak With AI in a Foreign Language: When learning a new language, students might feel self-conscious about making mistakes and avoid practicing as much as they should. But many language learners are turning to AI chatbots for help, the BBC reports, since "a chatbot won't judge you" and "you can speak about things that are interesting to you." According to the BBC, research suggests that these chatbots can also be useful for "vocabulary development, grammar and other language skills, especially when they offer corrective feedback."

Language teachers can have students carry out a conversation with ChatGPT. Start with a prompt like "I want to practice my Spanish. Can you speak to me in Spanish at a ninth-grade level, with short sentences?" There are also AI chatbots specifically for language learning, like LearnLingo and Tutor Lily, which both have free versions; these can be adjusted to various levels of fluency and offer text and audio conversation options. Teachers can ask students to interact with these language platforms at home and print out the results as homework or try chatting with them during an in-class session.

9. Ask Students to Grade ChatGPT's Writing: Many students' biggest temptation is letting ChatGPT write their essays. One fun and engaging way for teachers to work around that desire is... to sometimes let students do exactly that. Instead of assigning students an essay analyzing Of Mice and Men, have students type that essay's prompt into ChatGPT instead.

Then, have students take on the role of the teacher: "In groups, students should collaboratively read the ChatGPT response and assess it using a rubric that the teacher has provided for them," suggests Sharma. Have students mark up ChatGPT's response and come up with constructive feedback that they can deliver in their next prompt. (For example, "Your paragraphs lack topic sentences. Try again.") By taking on the role of an editor, students can actively develop a better understanding of what makes an essay successful.

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9 Tips for Using AI for Learning (and Fun!)

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These innovative, AI-driven activities will help you engage students across grade levels and subject areas.

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Edutopia created a resource of 7 augmented reality tools that can be utilized in the classroom. My favorite included was Quiver Masks - which "allows students to make character mask to put themselves in the shoes of a particular animal or person in the story."

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7 Augmented Reality Tools for the Classroom

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A technology integration specialist shares some ways her district uses augmented reality to boost engagement in learning.

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This article discusses what AR is in education and what apps you can find in the app store to utilize in the classroom.

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Immersive Learning: AR In The Classroom | Discovery Education

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Immersive AR technology brings learning to life! Cultivate curiosity and strengthen comprehension with captivating virtual reality learning for the classroom.

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This article discusses how teachers are using the game Wordle in the classroom. One example I really liked was CVC word fun. This makes word mapping more fun and engaging for students.

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When historians look back on 2022, chances are Wordle will dominate at least a piece of the conversation. Everywhere you turn, the word game with its now iconic green and yellow squares is there, and that includes inside the classroom! Teachers across the US are putting their own twists on Wordle to teach phonics, vocabulary, and a whole lot more. Wondering "how do you use Wordle in the classroom?"

We asked teachers to share some of their clever Wordle ideas for teaching!

What Is Wordle?

Maybe you've managed to escape the hottest craze since the popping fidget toy? Wordle is, in short, a viral word game in which players are given six chances to guess a five-letter word. Guess the wrong word but have a few of the letters correct?

If the letter is in the correct spot, the box containing the letter will turn green - letting players know to reuse that letter right in that spot.

If the letter is in the final word but not in the correct spot, the box will turn yellow, letting them know they can try again.

If the letter is just plain incorrect, the box will turn grey, so players know not to use it again.

The word game was created by Josh Wardle (hence the name), a Welsh software engineer who introduced it to the world in late 2021. By early 2022, Wardle's game became so massively popular in such a short amount of time that it was scooped up by the New York Times, which now runs its own version.

Kids have started playing the game on their own, and teachers have too. So it was only a matter of time before they took it and made it their own!

How Teachers Use Wordle in the Classroom

Whiteboard Wordle

It was a student's question that prompted Emily Halbig to create a Wordle-type board on her classroom whiteboard. The sixth-grade ELA and social studies teacher from Watsonville, California was asked by a student if she played the popular game, prompting other kids in the class to pipe up with questions.

"I did one with them and they were hooked," she told Teach Starter. "I remember one of the first days they got it on the last line and the cheers were so loud it was like they'd won the Super Bowl!"

At first, Halbig was using Chrome to play the real thing with her classes, but soon students were arriving in her classroom having already figured out the answer on their own devices.

"I figured I needed a way to come up with my own words and saw another teacher had done it on chart paper. So I thought why not make a reusable whiteboard version?" Halbig said.

As for where she gets the words from - this exercise is all about the students. Each student wrote five-letter words on index cards, and Halbig pulls at random from the stack to determine the daily word. To keep the kids on her toes, she mixes things up so period one students get words from period three and vice versa.

CVC Word Fun

The original game may be all about five-letter words, but no one said you can't drop the box count down to three to practice CVC words with your younger learners! Draw out six lines each of three boxes for young students to write in their words, and you can use green and yellow markers to mark yellow and green.

Want to make word mapping more fun?

If you have bright-colored magnetic tiles in your classroom - the type kids use for building small structures at playtime - grab the green and yellow tiles, and you've got the perfect thing for some on-on-one CVC fun Wordle style! Bonus: The tiles will even stick to your whiteboard!

Draw on Unit Vocabulary

New Jersey school librarian Beth Thomas saw an opportunity to build on unit vocabulary when she noticed kids were playing Wordle on the Chromebooks in the library. With a group of seventh graders researching Lewis and Clark's expedition in her middle school library, Thomas told Teach Starter she opted to start using five-letter words related to the topic at hand - river, canoe, and so on.

"The kids got really excited about trying to solve the puzzle and had all different strategies (many use adieu as their first guess because of all the vowels)," she said. "I kept telling them they had to use what they were learning about the Expedition to help them make good guesses."

Thomas is already fielding suggestions from students that incorporate the subjects at hand, and she's planning to keep it going.

"A student who comes in frequently during lunchtime had an idea for the one on the day we returned back from President's Weekend: penny because Lincoln is on it," Thomas said. "I will definitely be asking more students to pick the daily Wordle to see if they can stump their friends, and I am already planning on how to incorporate it into other research projects: ecosystems, Ancient India, social justice topics, etc."

You can check out Thomas' series of Lewis and Clark Wordle charts on the school library's Instagram.

Dry Erase Wordle Charts

Don't want to take up space on your whiteboard with your Wordle-type game? Fourth grade teacher Drew Kelley created a dry-erase version for his classroom with standard anchor chart paper! Kelley laminated the paper, and it's the perfect activity for students to work on together while he's working with students during intervention time.

"They use dry erase markers so I can erase it every day after they are done," he explained.

Kelley chooses the words himself, tying them directly into topics he's covering in class.

Dig Into the Archive

New to Wordle, and want to give the original a try? There's just one new World released per day, but you can play old games in the Wordle Archive for free. This makes a great bell-ringer activity for kids on your classroom tablet!

Other Wordle-Like Games

Looking for more fun twists on Wordle for you - or for adapting in the classroom? Give these free games a try!

Looking for more word fun for the classroom? Give our Toggle game a try, and let your students create as many words as they can find!

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Wordle in the Classroom: How Teachers Are Using the Viral Word Game

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When historians look back on 2022, chances are Wordle will dominate at least a piece of the conversation. Everywhere you turn, the word game with its now iconic green and yellow squares is there, and that includes inside the classroom! Teachers across the US are putting their own twists on Wordle to teach phonics, vocabulary, and a whole lot more.

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This is another example of how teachers are using Wordle. The teacher noted that because of this, discussion was sparked about letter combinations, vowel combinations, and why things do or don't work

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Have you caught the Wordle bug yet? The entire WeAreTeachers staff is playing the daily word game, and we can't get enough. As there are obviously some great learning extensions with vocabulary, critical thinking, and phonics, we asked teachers to share how they're using Wordle in the classroom. Here's what they had to say.

Play a super-sized version on the whiteboard (bonus points for lamination)

I found a good use for the laminator. The 5th graders are beyond excited! #wordle pic.twitter.com/9ls8lPJSoz

- Christina Nosek (@ChristinaNosek) January 24, 2022

Teacher Christina Nosek posted on Twitter that she's been playing Worldle with her fifth graders on the whiteboard. "All you need is chart paper, a marker, a ruler, and a laminator," she says. "What was really cool was all of the discussion this sparked around letter combinations, vowel combinations, and why some things work and some things don't. We had such fabulous discussion about how words are made while we played."

Don't want to DIY? Check out our printable Wordle template

You can print it big or small depending on your needs. The rules of Wordle are simple. You choose a five-letter word of the day. Your students have six guesses to get the word. Cross out incorrect letters in their guesses, circle letters that are correct but not in the right spot yellow, and circle letters that are correct and in the right spot green.

Use Scrabble tiles to add a kinesthetic element

My own third grader has been playing Wordle and likes to have an offscreen place to do some thinking-either a notepad or an assortment of Scrabble tiles, which makes it easier for him to "see" his guesses and potential solutions.

Choose your own word of the day in a digital version

MyWordle.Me is a free site that lets you choose the word and share your customized game with others. Check out this great list of other Wordle variations your students can play, too.

Try an app version first thing in the morning

Many of the adult Wordle lovers we know play to start their days, and it's a great bell ringer for students, too. "We play in homeroom every morning," says Katharine P. "I've gotten several students to download an app that plays the same game called What Word? "

Do you have other ideas for using Wordle in the classroom? Please share in the comments.
Get the Wordle Game!

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How Teachers Are Bringing the Magic of Wordle Into Their Classrooms

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Have you caught the Wordle bug yet? The entire WeAreTeachers staff is playing the daily word game, and we can't get enough. As there are obviously some great learning extensions with vocabulary, critical thinking, and phonics, we asked teachers to share how they're using Wordle in the classroom.

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Northern Illinois University published this article on 8 ways to use QR codes in the classroom. I don't see this being something I would use in the lower elementary classroom but this would be a great tool to foster collaboration on assignments. A QR code that links documents like slides or google drive for other students.

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Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning

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By Tolulope (Tolu) Noah | August 10, 2022

Source: EDUCAUSE Review

QR codes can complement the design of more interactive and engaging learning experiences in higher education.

My obsession with QR (quick response) codes began over a decade ago, when I was a 5th- and 6th-grade classroom teacher. I used QR codes on bulletin boards so that during Open House, families could scan them to view students' digital work. I also used QR codes for assignments so that students could easily check their answers. When I transitioned to higher education and became a professor in 2013, QR codes came right along with me, and I have used them in ever-expanding ways. With their simplicity and versatility, QR codes lend themselves to a wide variety of uses in the college/university classroom.

What are QR codes?

EDUCAUSE defines QR codes as "two-dimensional bar codes that can contain any alphanumeric text and often feature URLs that direct users to sites where they can learn about an object or place." QR codes have been used in various industries and settings, including museums (to provide visitors with additional information about the artwork on display) and airlines (to make the boarding process more efficient). There has also been a resurgence of the use of QR codes during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, many restaurants have transitioned to using QR codes to give patrons access to menus in a way that minimizes contact with shared surfaces.

How to Create and Scan QR Codes

QR codes can be created using websites that generate QR codes or certain web browsers, like Google Chrome. The iPhone and iPad have a built-in app called Shortcuts that can also be used to create QR codes (see figure 1). With the Shortcuts app, you can create QR codes that link to websites, contact information, calendar events, and even wireless networks (to make it easier for others to join a network).
Figure 1. Scanning and Creating QR Codes on the iPhone or iPad: A Guide for Higher Ed Faculty
To scan a QR code, you can use a mobile device with a camera, such as a cell phone or tablet. In fact, the cameras on most newer iPhones, iPads, and Android devices have built-in QR code reader functionality. If using an older device, you can download a third-party app to scan QR codes, such as QR Droid or QR Reader for iPhone.

How to Use QR Codes in Class

QR codes are useful for many teaching and learning tasks in the higher education setting. Faculty and students can easily generate QR codes that link to a wide variety of online content including maps, charts, graphs, audio or video clips, photographs, quizzes, surveys, PDF documents, websites, and collaborative documents. The possibilities for how QR codes can be incorporated into courses of any discipline are endless. Below are just eight ideas.

1. Provide Access to Course Content

One of the easiest ways to use QR codes is to provide students with quick and easy access to course materials. For example, QR codes in the syllabus can link to course readings or videos. Or QR codes on slides can quickly direct students to a website that they will be using in class. You can also create a QR code that points students to an online hyperdoc containing links to all of the resources that will be used that day. This becomes a "one-stop shop" for students during class and streamlines the navigation process.

2. Connect with Students

QR codes can be helpful for getting to know your students and helping them get to know you. For example, a QR code in the syllabus can link to a video of you introducing yourself to the class. You can also create a student survey in Google Forms or another online survey tool and use a QR code to link to the survey. You can add the code to your syllabus as the first "assignment" that students need to complete. QR codes can also make it easier for students to get in touch with you: a QR code on your office door can provide your contact information, office hours, and/or a website where students can sign up for a time to meet with you (e.g., via Calendly or SignUpGenius). In addition, QR codes can be used to check in with students about their experience in your course, again by linking them to online surveys or forms. For example, I created a Mid-Course Feedback Form in Google Forms, based on a template that my university provided.

3. Encourage Collaboration

You can create QR codes that link to online collaborative documents (e.g., Google Docs, Google Slides, Microsoft OneDrive files). Students can use these collaborative documents for brainstorming activities, shared writing exercises, presentations, and other discipline-based tasks with their peers. For example, if students are working on a small-group activity (e.g., analyzing a case study or learning about an important legal case), QR codes can link to collaborative documents for each group. Students can then access their group's collaborative document and work together to complete the task. Collaborative documents also work well for virtual synchronous instruction, as they can provide structure for breakout room activities.

4. Assess Student Learning

QR codes are very helpful for formative assessments. They can link to online quizzes, polls, and surveys (e.g., Kahoot!, Poll Everywhere, Mentimeter, Google Forms). You can then place these QR codes on your lecture slides at strategic pausing points. When it is time for students to complete an assessment, they can use their phones to scan the QR code and go directly to the chosen assessment tool.

5. Provide Examples

One of my favorite ways to use QR codes is to provide examples of a concept that students are learning about. For example, during my lecture on English language learners (ELLs), I had students do a Tic-Tac-Toe QR code activity. The handout had nine boxes, each of which contained a QR code and the title of the video it linked to. Each video showed a classroom teacher demonstrating how to use a specific teaching strategy with ELLs. I told my students to choose any three boxes in a row, watch the linked videos, and reflect on what they observed. Afterward, we had a whole-class discussion about their observations. The Tic-Tac-Toe QR code activity worked well because it not only allowed students to see examples of teaching strategies in practice but also gave students choice in what they watched (based on their particular interests). Also, when students heard their peers discuss the videos they had watched, students were intrigued to check out the other videos too.

6. Provide Additional Support and Feedback

QR codes are great for providing immediate support. For example, when creating the assignment guidelines for a research paper, you can include QR codes that link to citation, grammar, or other writing resources. Or, when crafting a practice or review assignment, you can include QR codes that link to tutorials that students can watch if they are stuck on a problem and need help. Do you have specialized equipment that students should use? You can create QR codes that link to tutorials or directions, then print the QR codes on labels and stick them directly on the equipment so that help is only a scan away. QR codes also work well for providing students with feedback about their work. You can use an online tool like Microsoft Flip to create audio or video recordings of your feedback. Then you can share those recordings with students via QR codes.

7. Make Learning Interactive

QR codes can easily be printed on copy paper or labels, making them an excellent tool for interactive learning experiences such as gallery walks, scavenger hunts, peer review, "walk and talks," and simulations.

Gallery Walks. Create QR codes that link to short passages of text, images, datasets, video clips, or audio clips related to the topic you are teaching. Tape the QR codes up around the room. Provide students with a graphic organizer, guided notes sheet, or reflection sheet to complete as they scan the QR codes and examine each resource. Afterward, facilitate a whole-class discussion about their observations and the emerging themes. For example, in my "Diversity in the Classroom" course, I used QR codes and graphic organizers to help students unpack the concept of microaggressions. In my "Intro to Teaching" course, I used QR codes to help students explore examples of ways that teachers integrate technology into their instruction.

Scavenger Hunts. Use a scavenger hunt activity to get students up and moving as they review a course-related concept. Make a set of QR codes that link to questions for students to answer, problems for them to solve, or quick tasks for them to complete. Place the QR codes in strategic places throughout the classroom, building, or campus. Then have students work in pairs or small groups to complete the hunt. They can document their work by recording their responses on a sheet of paper (if answering questions or solving problems), or they can take pictures or record short video clips as evidence of their completion of each task. You could even have students submit their scavenger hunt evidence online via GooseChase.

Peer Review. Have students generate a QR code that links to their work online, or ask students to submit their work to a cloud-based storage system (e.g., Google Drive or Dropbox) and create the QR codes yourself. Tape the QR codes up around the room, or create stations in the classroom with a few QR codes at each one. As students walk around the room or rotate through the stations, they can scan the QR codes to read their peers' work. They can also use sticky notes or index cards to record feedback about each person's work. Alternatively, you can make the entire peer review process digital by having students share a link to their work on Padlet, where they can also post feedback for their peers.

"Walk and Talks." Give participants a topic or question, and have them take a short walk with a partner to discuss it. You can level up this experience by creating QR codes with discussion prompts. Tape the QR codes up in strategic places around the building or campus to create a "discussion path." Then give students 10-15 minutes to walk the path with their partner, scan the QR codes, and discuss the questions. You can even scaffold the questions so that they become more complex as students walk or so that they prompt students to examine an issue from multiple perspectives. Afterward, facilitate a whole-class discussion about the experience.

Simulations. Use QR codes to simulate real-world experiences. For example, in their book Innovations in the Simulations Lab, Sarah Manacek and Lorraine Pitcher, nursing faculty members, describe how they have used QR codes to simulate barcode scanning. First they created an online spreadsheet that included a list of scheduled medications for a sample patient, and then they created a QR code that linked to the spreadsheet. They printed out the QR code and placed it on the wristband of a mannequin patient. Nursing students used iPads to scan the QR code on the mannequin's wristband so that they could practice the proper protocol for administering medications.

8. Extend Learning Opportunities

Want to encourage students to go further? QR codes can help with that. Include QR codes that link to supplementary information or resources on your handouts and slides. You might even challenge students to find additional articles, videos, or other resources about a course-related topic and to create QR codes for sharing their findings with peers. Students can also use QR codes to connect with a wider audience. For example, they can create PSA videos or websites and post QR codes around campus to draw attention to critical issues. If they are doing poster presentations or other types of research presentations, they can include QR codes that link to their references or other related resources.

Important Considerations

When planning to have students use QR codes for classroom activities, instructors should ensure that all students will have access. Some students may not have smartphones or tablets, and others may have limited cellular data. If this is the case, consider utilizing QR codes for small-group activities in which only one student in the group would need to have a device. Instructors can also reach out to campus academic technology departments to see if they have tablets that can be checked out for classroom use. Lastly, conducting QR code activities in settings where students will have access to free campus Wi-Fi is desirable, but backup plans are needed in case the Wi-Fi happens to be spotty or down that day.

In a study about using QR codes in field-based courses, David Chapple, Bruce Weir, and Ricardo San Martin found that training students in the scanning process before doing QR code activities is critical for success. We often assume that students feel comfortable with technology simply because technology is so prevalent. However, the study authors found that this is not always the case and that students would benefit from being informed about how QR codes will be used.

Conclusion

QR codes open up a world of possibility in the higher education setting. They provide a quick and easy way for students to access instructional materials, and they complement the design of more interactive and engaging learning experiences.

Notes

1. EDUCAUSE, "7 Things You Should Know About QR Codes," February 13, 2009; Dantrea Hampton, Amanda Peach, and Benjamin Rawlins, "Extending Library Services with QR Codes," Reference Librarian 53, no. 4 (October 2012).

2. I have created a brief video tutorial as well.

3. William Antonelli, "How to Scan a QR Code on Your Android Phone or Tablet," Business Insider, November 19, 2021.

4. "Teaching Research Strategies with Padlet," Carroll University (website), November 3, 2020.

5. See, for example, Responsive Classroom, Energize Your Meetings! 35 Interactive Learning Structures for Educators (Turners Falls, MA: Center for Responsive Schools, 2015).

6. Sarah Manacek and Lorraine Pitcher, Innovations in the Simulation Lab: Innovative Ideas for the Healthcare Simulation Setting Using iPads (Apple Books, 2020), p. 7.

7. David Chapple, Bruce Weir, and Ricardo San Martin, "Can the Incorporation of Quick Response Codes and Smartphones Improve Field-Based Science Education?," International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education 25, no. 2 (2017).

Tolulope (Tolu) Noah is Instructional Learning Spaces Coordinator at California State University, Long Beach.

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8 ways to use QR codes in the classroom - Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning

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By Tolulope (Tolu) Noah | August 10, 2022 Source: EDUCAUSE Review QR codes can complement the design of more interactive and engaging learning experiences in higher education. My obsession with QR (quick response) codes began over a decade ago, when I was a 5th- and 6th-grade classroom teacher.

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This article discusses the benefits of QR codes in the classroom and the enhancements using those codes can bring - like using QR codes to quickly share different materials from videos to documents with very little effort from the teacher.

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Best Practices
Are you a teacher who is looking for ways to make learning even more fun for your students? Then try using QR Codes in the classroom! They make digital content and links easy to access, are customizable, editable, and can be used for all sorts of lesson plans. Keep on reading for examples of how real teachers have used QR Codes in their classrooms!
Why are so many teachers using QR Codes in the classroom?

QR Codes have become increasingly popular among educational institutions across the globe, especially with teachers who focus on younger age levels. With the push towards technology in our daily lives, teachers are realizing that instead of fighting it, they can use technology to their advantage.

QR Codes are a perfect example of how teachers can positively integrate technology in their classrooms because they're so easy and flexible to use. Many children already have smartphones, so they can use their smartphones (and also tablets in class) and scan the QR Codes to do things like save homework, find quiz answers, and access links easier. Plus, it also saves on loads of paperwork - something highly beneficial for both teachers and parents.

The benefits of using QR Codes in the classroom

Teachers love using QR Codes in the classroom because they simplify access to complex links, make learning more fun for students, and have a wide variety of uses. Not to mention QR Codes can be customized and edited later on!

It takes mere seconds to scan a QR Code with any smartphone or tablet - whether it's with a third-party app or directly with the camera, which is why so many teachers are using them to make digital content more accessible for students. This works particularly well with links because students can scan the QR Code and automatically view the website instead of having to type it in themselves. Consider how long links can be if you need to share a specific article. It can take ages to type in manually. You can make it much easier by sharing the QR Code with a projector so students can scan it. For younger students and students with disabilities, this method especially is a whole lot less frustrating.

A QR Code provides students with easy access to links during a lesson. Source: edutopia.org

Flexible types of QR Codes save time

Whether you want to use QR Codes to share a link, videos, images, PDFs, sound files, and more all of this is possible with QR Code Generator. This not only saves you time during class because students view the correct information via the QR Code, but it also saves time for your prep work because you don't need to print out tons of copies for the same website for every student. This level of flexibility means that no matter which type of content you'd like to share, there's a QR Code that works for everything.

Enhances classroom learning

Because there are so many different types of QR Codes, there are endless ways that teachers can incorporate them into the classroom to make learning more interactive and fun. The image below is a good example because you can add a QR Code to a grammar quiz to provide a more creative way to access the related tasks. If you wanted to use QR Codes to share quiz solutions, you might want to use a PDF QR Code to create a document or use a Video QR Code for a video tutorial.

A QR Code on a quiz worksheet makes it easier to find the answers. Source: en.islcollective.com

By the way, a PDF QR Code is a great way for teachers to share any type of document with students or teachers without needing to print it. Parents will certainly thank you for not having to deal with so much paper!

Completely customizable

If you're worried about how you can adapt QR Codes to different mediums, this is no problem, because you can customize them in every way possible. You can increase the size as large as you need (such as to use them on a bulletin board) or even make them small for individual worksheets (but no smaller than 2 x 2 cm or 0.8 x 0.8 in because they become unreadable for QR Code scanners). You can also style your QR Codes with colors and edges and even custom frames. When styling your QR Code, make sure that the color contrast is readable on the design and doesn't blend into the background too much, otherwise, it becomes hard to read.

If you choose a Dynamic QR Code, then you can even update your QR Code's content later on. Say you need to change a link or even change your type of QR Code (i.e. use a video instead of images), you can do this without needing to design a new QR Code. This too saves time, because you never have to worry about reprinting due to typos or if the link is no longer available.

Ideas for using QR Codes in the classroom

To give you some inspiration for how to creatively use QR Codes in the classroom to enhance learning, here are a few examples from real teachers.

You can add QR Codes to worksheets so students can easily access video and website content. Jessica Boschen is a grade school teacher who did precisely this by using a combination of URL QR Codes and Video QR Codes to give students easy access to biographical information about important historical figures. By using this approach, she made the lesson much more interactive, because the students could independently read and listen to the information instead of just listening to a group presentation to the whole class.

Interactive bulletin boards

Bulletin boards are a great way to inspire curiosity among students. Schools can use them in classrooms and even on public bulletin boards that anyone in the school can access. The teacher who created the bulletin board in the image below used QR Codes to encourage students to learn more about famous women.

If you wanted to create something similar, you might consider using a combination of Video QR Codes, Website URL QR Codes, Image QR Codes, and MP3 QR Codes to give a variety of information about a particular subject.

An additional option here that would work for public bulletin boards around the school would be to use an Event QR Code so parents and students could sign up for things like PTA meetings or large school events. With Event QR Codes, anyone who scans them can automatically view all the event details, register, and add the event to the digital calendar.

Make reading time fun

A teacher wanted to make reading more interactive for younger students so she added QR Codes to a classroom reading station that all focused on Halloween stories for October. The goal here also was that students could do this independently, instead of needing to read with an adult. They already use tablets in the classroom so this was the perfect way to incorporate them into the lesson in a positive manner. In this case, you could use a Video QR Code if the files are on video or an MP3 QR Code if you'd like to share sound files.

Fun for parents at school

Another school got really creative with QR Codes and decided to integrate them into a fun event for parents. Each student recorded an audio file about themselves so that parents could get to know all the students and their interests. The audio file was converted into an MP3 QR Code, which was then added to each student's locker. At the event, parents could walk through the hallways and scan the QR Codes to listen to the audio files automatically.

A special offer for educational use

We at QR Code Generator appreciate how hard teachers work to make their classrooms as awesome as possible. So, we are offering a special plan for teachers who want to incorporate QR Codes into their lessons. All you need to do is send us an email at support@qr-code-generator.com and our friendly support team will assist you further.

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How Teachers Are Using QR Codes in the Classroom to Enhance Learning - QR Code Generator

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Best Practices Are you a teacher who is looking for ways to make learning even more fun for your students? Then try using QR Codes in the classroom! They make digital content and links easy to access, are customizable, editable, and can be used for all sorts of lesson plans.

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This article details 13 ways to make presentations interactive

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If you're a teacher, you'll know that there's a lot to think about when you're in class. It's important to ensure that what you're teaching the children is as educational and as interesting as possible - with the aim of engaging the students in the subject and hopefully even enabling them to enjoy learning!

This can be a very difficult balance to strike. However, it's made easier by these interactive presentation ideas listed in this article, which can engage even the most distracted of students!

How to display presentations

The best classroom gadget to show these presentations on is an interactive display. These are large devices that are mounted to the wall and can connect seamlessly with any video collaboration applications. You can connect interactive displays to the internet and further use them as a powerful classroom teaching tool, to help students learn in a fully interactive and efficient way. We sell interactive displays for classrooms here at Avocor.

Interactive class presentation ideas

Ice breakers

Many work-related presentations start with an icebreaker, and there's no reason why a presentation to a class of students should be any different.

The icebreaker question will depend on the class and age of students, but could be something like the following:

If you could be an animal, what would it be and why?

What would be your dream place to go on holiday?

If you could have dinner with three historical characters, who would they be and why?

If you could make any kind of potion, what would it do?

Video

Incorporating video is one of the best interactive presentation ideas for students. Even if the video is about the same topic as the presentation, the fact that it's a different type of media will interest the class.

You can either find a suitable video on YouTube or another video software or, if you have a file saved, paste it directly into the presentation.

Questions and answers

Questions and answers are a great way to get the whole class involved. You could invite one student to ask a hypothetical question about the topic, and another could answer.

For example, if you're learning about Henry VIII and his six wives, you could ask a student to ask a question about them. Their question could be "what was Henry VIII's favourite food?" or something similar.

When another student answers, you could ask them to explain their answer - for example, if they say "meat and bread", they might carry on to explain that that was the main diet for royalty at the time.

Songs

Songs are a good way to interest younger kids in a topic. You can find songs about all sorts of subjects on YouTube. For example, this seven continents song could be suitable for a Geography song.

Many songs on YouTube have lyrics, so you could encourage your class to practice their reading as they sing along.

Props

Some presentations are made more interactive by external objects - and if you want to engage younger kids, bringing some props can really help the lesson to come alive.

For example, if you're doing a history lesson about the Ancient Egyptians, you could bring some figures of Tutankhamun, the Sphinx and the ancient pyramids for everybody to see.

Class involvement

Asking for direct class involvement throughout the presentation is a good way to ensure that students stay engaged. For instance, if you're doing a presentation about animals, you could ask students to make a noise every time you mention a certain animal.

You could ask them to roar each time you mention lions, or make a monkey noise each time you talk about monkeys. This is a great way to ensure that the students are paying attention!

Transitions and animations

A simple way to ensure that your students are paying attention is to use different transitions and animations throughout your presentation.

If you're teaching older kids or teenagers, you might not want to have too many of these, but younger kids will love seeing every item bounce onto the screen. It's a wonderful way to get them interested in technology in the classroom!

Quizzes

Quizzes are an effective way to engage students of any age. You can include these at the end of the presentation and they can include questions that you've covered in the session.

If your students know that there will be a quiz at the end of the class, they may be more likely to pay attention throughout it! You could also ensure maximum engagement by telling students that there will be prizes for the winner of the quiz - such as stickers or sweets.

Interactive games

Interactive games for class presentations are always a popular way to ensure that students stay engaged! Some examples include:

noughts and crosses or tic tac toe

pictionary

hangman or an alternative like spaceman

21 questions

It's best to make these games related to the subject. For example, the game "21 questions" involves you thinking of a character and students asking questions with a yes or no answer about what character you are.

If you're teaching a history class, the character could be somebody from history (such as Florence Nightingale or Queen Victoria), or if you're instructing a science lesson, the character could be a famous scientist (like Einstein or Steven Hawking).

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is another great way to get the class involved. You can use an interactive display to create the brainstorm diagram on. Students can take turns writing on the board, and it can securely connect to any external devices, so any remote class members can join in.

With an interactive display, you can also immediately share the diagram to the rest of the class once it's finished, so they can keep it to refresh their knowledge of a topic.

For example, if you're teaching your class about Australia in geography, you could ask their students what they may already know about Australia. They could come up with some items like the following:

kangaroos

koalas

Sydney Opera House

Aboriginal art

rainforest

outback

BBQ

You could then create a spider diagram with different legs depending on the topic. For this list, there could be an "animals" leg for kangaroos and koalas, an "architecture" leg for the Sydney Opera House, a "landscapes" leg for the rainforest and outback, a "culture" leg for Aboriginal art and a "food" leg for BBQ.

Make a story

Making a story about the topics covered can encourage creativity around the topic. To do this, write down a couple of opening lines to a story related to the topic that you're teaching.

For example, if you're teaching students about the Ancient Roman Empire, you could start by saying "Ronald the Roman lived in the British City of Bath, where the Romans had arrived 20 years before. He spent most of his time at work, where he built houses for the rest of the Romans".

Then, you could invite a student to continue the story, encouraging them to stay as on-topic as possible. You could even give out a prize to the student with the best part of the story. Depending on the size of the class, you could ask every student to contribute.

Stories also work well for English lessons. In these classes, the topic of the story doesn't matter as much, but you could encourage students to use whatever language they've been learning.

For example, if your class has been focused on adjectives, you could ask students to put as many adjectives as possible in each part of their story.

Have a short play

You could take your stories to the next level by creating a short play on one of your slides. This could be based on whatever topic you're learning about, and you could select a few students to come to the front of the class and read out the lines.

You may wish to create this personally, find a relevant play online or you could even turn a well-known story into a play!

Virtual field trip

One of the most creative interactive school presentation ideas is to take the class on a virtual field trip. This is particularly valuable for geography lessons, where you may learn about places that students might not be able to visit in person, like the Amazon rainforest or even under the sea!

You could link to Google maps, where you could use Google Earth to explore a particular area. Alternatively, there are some YouTube channels that specialise in virtual tours and field trips, such as this one which details all you need to know about rainforests.

If you have a classroom full of students and want to keep them as engaged as possible while teaching them new material, try some of these interactive games for classroom presentations and other ideas!

By incorporating some of these interactive ideas into your presentation, you'll have the students' full undivided attention and ensure that they not only enjoy the class but retain the information.

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13 Interactive Presentation Ideas for the Classroom

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Discover these interactive presentation ideas, which are ideal for classes with children or teens of any age. Keep your students engaged with this inspiration!

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I actually wanted to include Nearpod as this class is the first time I had heard of it and I think this is an excellent way to create interactive lessons and promote higher student engagement.

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Teach with slides-based lessons and choose form 20+ interactive formative assessments and dynamic media features.