QR Codes

Kearns Junior High Hacks the Attendance Problem with QR Codes

December 2017

This school year Kearns Junior High implemented a new program in which teachers take attendance by scanning QR codes in student binders at the door at the beginning of class. This simple technology trick saves teachers and students time by eliminating the awkward roll call process, provides more accurate attendance data, makes students more aware of when they are tardy, and gives the teachers the opportunity to greet their students at the door and get to know them better. Toni Blattman, Library Media Educational Technology Specialist, explains the program in the video above.

Spotlight created by Celia Powell, District Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader.

Teacher Spotlight: Kris Handley and Kelly Stevens, Hunter Elementary

April 2016

Kindergartners at Hunter Elementary are happy and making tremendous progress with the loving care of their amazing teachers, Kris Handley and Kelly Stevens! These five and six year old students enjoy learning using technology. They are using iPods and QR codes to practice reading. They are also using iPads and OSMO. OSMO helps them to learn letters, sight words, numbers and to do a variety of math activities including the use of tan-grams. They are masters of the Mimio interactive board and enjoy interacting with a number of programs on it including one of their favorites: pinkcatstudio.com. They work independently at their computer center and especially enjoy starfall.com to help them with their reading.

Kris and Kelly successfully use PLC time to plan for the success of all their students. Principal, Kayla Mackay, describes the progress their Kindergarten students are making under the care of these two top notch teachers.

Spotlight Creator: Teresa Bruin, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist

Library Spotlight: Michelle Asay, Granger High School

November 2014

Michelle Asay is the Library Media Educational Technology Specialist for Granger High School. Mrs. Asay has one of the highest digital and print circulations in the district. She is very creative and offers a different library promotion each month to promote school wide literacy. She is an avid reader herself and keeps up on all the current YA literature trends.

Take a Reading Roadtrip Across the USA!

The Granger High Media Center theme for the 2014-2015 school year is Take a Reading Roadtrip Across the USA!

Mrs. Asay is featuring books that take place in various geographic regions of the United States via book talks and book displays throughout the year. Students have punch cards where they can keep track of which regions and states they have covered, and they must read at least one book from each region to beat the yearlong challenge. Students also have access to lists of YA Books by state and region online via G-House Center, the Granger High Media Center web site, on which are curated several state book lists from Destiny, Goodreads, the collaborative Google Doc YA Novels by State, and The United States of YA.

Library Orientation with QR Code Scavenger Hunt

This year students used QR Codes and iPads to participate in Mrs. Asay’s library orientations. Students explored the library searching for QR codes that introduced them to the “Take a Reading Roadtrip Across the USA” school literacy promotion, Destiny Library Catalog, OverDrive Digital Library, how to locate different genres and sections in the library, how to place a hold on a book, and more.

Granger High Media Center QR Code Library Orientation Activity

This is just a sample of the displays and activities in the Granger High Media Center. You can see more examples of Michelle’s displays and promotions, as well as displays from our other schools, on our Granite Media Library Displays Pinterest Board.

Spotlight Author: Cindy Moyle, Granite District Secondary Library Media Specialist

Teacher Spotlight: Shanna Bingham, Pioneer Elementary

November 2014

Mrs. Shanna Bingham is a kindergarten teacher at Pioneer Elementary. I had the opportunity to watch her work with her students on counting and number recognition. Her students worked as partners and used iPads to scan QR codes. Those codes took the students to her UEN website (http://my.uen.org/myuen/230078). The students then counted the number of pumpkins and wrote the number on a worksheet. Once that activity was complete the students then used the app Doodle Buddy to practice collaboration and providing feedback while counting. One student would say a number and the other student would tap out that amount of snowflakes on the screen. The first student would then give a thumbs up or down to indicate whether the student completed the request accurately. The final activity was using the app ShowMe which was the first time using this application. The students were give a two minute explanation as to how to use the app. Then with their partner they created a mini counting movie. It was amazing to see how engaged and the amount of collaboration that took place during this forty minute lesson.

Mrs. Bingham is always eager to incorporate technology into her lessons. Whether it be using the SMART board to instruct from or having her student use iPads instead of worksheets to complete lesson activities. She always keeps productivity at the forefront of her lesson planning. Her lessons are engaging and keep her kindergarten students collaborating. To quote one of her students “This is super awesome!” She is a true 21^st Century teacher.

Spotlight Author: Heidi Meenen, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist

Additional Resource Shown on Video: Class Dojo