Today was our final session in Digital Technologies and I was quite excited about this lesson as QR codes is something I have never used before and I was interested to find out more about them and what they actually do as I have only really seen then in advertisements or passed them but never really paid an interest to them. Although we were not able to put this activity outside due to the weather conditions and the fear of the QR codes blowing away, in the right conditions this could be extremely beneficial in getting children outdoors and actively learning.
“Outdoor learning experiences are often remembered for a lifetime. Integrating learning and outdoor experiences, whether through play in the immediate grounds or adventures further afield, provides relevance and depth to the curriculum in ways that are difficult to achieve indoors.” (Education.gov.scot, 2010)
Therefore, if I was to do this activity again, I would ensure it was outside to be able to capture these learning benefits and take the students learning to the next level. Outdoor learning also has many advantages and allows development such as developing critical thinking, personal development, promoting a healthy lifestyle, personal safety and is inclusive. Critical thinking is developed as children may start to see the links between different curricular areas and be able to point out the transferable skills that they can use in this activity. There will be personal development as the students will also be learning and developing skills as they would be collaboratively working with others therefore their communication and problem-solving skills will also improve. It promotes a healthy lifestyle as students would be outside walking or running about therefore using energy and being active. It develops personal safety as students start to become more independent and realising when there are risks to what they are doing or around them. It promotes inclusivity as it allows different skills to be used and shown that are not always available to use or promote in a classroom setting.
QR codes (quick response codes) are two-dimensional or 2D bar codes, often used to provide access to information through electronic devices such as mobile phones. A QR Code is an ‘image-
based hypertext link’ that can hold information and links that give access to many things such as text, websites, images and recordings. With QR scanners being implemented within technological devices, the relevance of using these is becoming more and more prominent, for example, a QR scanner being imbedded in ‘Snapchat’ which is an application used on technological devices to communicate. With the new digital generations entering their school life it is important as developing student teachers that we move with these times and generations.
For our activity, we used maths as the curriculum area that we focused on. We based this around first level. The activity was all about working with pennies. The students would scan the QR code where they would be given a sum using pennies and the answer to 
the sum would tell them what room to go to next. For example, 12p add 10p would give 22p, therefore the students would have to go to room 22 to find the next clue. At this room, another QR code and sum would be given. To make this more interesting, we included a shopping list so when they scanned the QR code, not only were they given a sum but also an item off their shopping list could be checked out and then recorded next to it what room they got it in and the cost which would be the answer to the sum. Once all the QR codes are found, students would have to add up the cost of the items to get the total amount of their shopping list.
I also found that this activity would be quite easy to develop for higher levels as instead of it being one apple it could be three which would mean the students would be working on their multiplication skills also.
Experiences and outcomes, we met were:
- I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts. (TCH 1-01a)
- I can use money to pay for items and can work out how much change I should receive. (MNU 1-09a)
(Education.gov.scot, n.d.)
After trying and testing our own model we swapped with another group. It took them around 10-15 minutes to complete which for our groups first attempt at making something like this, I would say it worked well. The feedback we got from the group was also that it was fun and enjoyable and they could clearly see how children of first level would benefit from and enjoy this activity. Here is the answers from the group who carried out or task.
I really enjoyed this session and found my group worked really well together in delving into QR codes. With none of us having any background knowledge on this area I would say we done really well. It is a common opinion that the use of digital technology is sitting in front of a computer screen, so this session was good as it showed a completely different side from this and the opportunities that go along with it. However, if I was to do this again, I would still try and make better use of my time whether that be by making the activity longer or shortening the amount of time I spent on the make up of it. But I do think if I was to keep this activity for this amount of time that it would still be good and beneficial to the children as they would be working on their mathematics skills and also their collaborative working skills and their communication skills as they would be working in groups and therefore would have to communicate their thoughts and answers with their team.
References
- Education.gov.scot. (n.d.). Curriculum For Excellence. [online] Available at: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/All-experiencesoutcomes18.pdf [Accessed 12 Mar. 2019].
- Education.gov.scot. (2010). Curriculum for Excellence through Outdoor Learning. [online] Available at: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/cfe-through-outdoor-learning.pdf [Accessed 12 Mar. 2019].
