Interactive story project...

You may not be familiar with QR codes, but if you aren't you will be soon. QR codes are the new bar code for the 21st century. They can be scanned by any smartphone or iPod touch with a camera. When scanned the code will take you to a place on the web or to a document or whatever info you have designated. Anyone can create one. The apps that scan them are almost always free.

Yesterday I had the chance to sit and jam with one of my GT teachers, Vawterila. Last time we did this we came up with our UStream Debate Project. Yesterday we took it to whole new level using an existing lesson, webtools, & QR codes. GT teachers and technology department have been learning more and more about project based learning and this lesson fits in great.

So here is the general idea...

Objective: 1. Students will write a story. 2. Students will create rich media and interactive, web-based activities to go along with the story. 3. Students will embed QR codes into the story to enable the interactive activities.

1. The story part of this project could be a collaborative effort using any number of cloud computing resources. (In our case our students would you Google Docs)

2. The added media and interactive activities could be anything the students choose. In fact, I'd be inclined to leave this open for the kids to choose their own tools. But here are just a few ideas:

• YouTube video
• Google Maps (my maps, guided tour)
• A blog or threaded discussion
• A VoiceThread
• Any webtool

3. Students could use any QR code generator found on the web. They would then take each code and paste it into the document at the appropriate place.

The final product would be a story that any class could read while using a smartphone or iPod touch. They would scan the codes as they read and participate in the activities as they go along.

To take this lesson a step further students could be assigned or given the choice of one of the 3 different elements of the project. The Google model of 20% time could be used to give students opportunities to dabble in the other elements from time to time.

This project has great potential. If you decide to give it a try please share your results. We would love to be able to see other classes final products.