Improving the Tuition Process With QR Codes

Education, like everything else, must not stand still, but keep up with the times and adapt to the realities.

One of the latest major tests for the industry has been the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. It necessitated a dramatic transition to non-contact and remote methods of teaching, and the use of related technology.

Today, there are no longer such strict limitations, and institutions are returning to normal. The same is true of tutoring. But some tools of the quarantine era, which proved their usefulness in the learning process, remain. Among them are QR codes.

Some general information about QR codes

QR codes can be called an evolutionary product of barcodes. They are able to contain much more information, including various types of information (links, audio, video, geolocation, images, etc.), which allowed them to break out far beyond warehouse accounting.

But, what is much more interesting in terms of tutoring, is the ability to scan them with an ordinary cell phone (as opposed to a special barcode tool). And since the vast majority of students are using mobile devices based on Android or iOS from a young age, there should be no problem with QR codes. Their recognition is built into the basic camera app. For other types of devices, there are many scanning apps that will do the job just as well.

Examples of using QR codes for tutors

1. Speeding up the search process

This point is more relevant for live group tutoring when a certain number of students are present at the same time. All visual information cannot fit on the board, and additional sources are required. In this era of advanced communication technology, such a source may well be some Internet page containing examples for your lesson.

Naturally, spending time on the manual entry of web addresses by a group of people (especially children) is a prohibitive luxury. The problem is easily solved with the use of a QR code, leading to the corresponding page. Place it on the same board, so students can quickly scan it and follow the link without fail.

It is also worth mentioning that the same printed code can be used for different students with different references. The whole point is that the content of dynamic codes is interchangeable. And it takes no more time to change the information in them than it takes to wipe and write a phrase on the board again.

2. Audio addition to the language lessons

In learning foreign languages, it is important to pay attention to pronunciation. When you lead a class, you control this aspect. But what should the student do in your absence, during the repetition of the passed material on his own, if he is not able to memorize everything?

You can provide your teaching materials with audio QR codes, with the recorded pronunciation of difficult words or phrases. These codes, when scanned, will play the audio file directly in the phone's player, without opening any extra pages. Agree, this is much more convenient than to look up in the dictionary for a transcription.

3. Answers to the homework assignments

If a student is having trouble or wants to check their answer during homework that you left them until the next visit, they can check the correct one. So how do you apply a QR code to make it work in this case?

Dynamic QR codes have another feature - tracking. Thus, you can observe which codes were scanned and when, and at the next lesson pay attention to the relevant moments (because children do not always ask you to do this themselves).

4. Gathering Feedback

In order to improve as a professional, you need to know how successful you are at your job. Of course, the very first indicator might be the improvement in a student's grades at a major institution, but that's not all. It's also a good idea to find out how accessible and, importantly, interesting you are in presenting the subject matter.

Students are unlikely to answer these questions to your face. Therefore, you can use a QR code that will lead to an anonymous questionnaire in Google Forms.

5. Increasing engagement

And of course, we should not forget about children's curiosity. Diluting the monotonous text with something that stands out (QR codes can have different customizable designs) is able to attract their attention and increase interest in the topic under discussion.

Such an approach makes the atmosphere of teaching more relaxed and adds an element of fun with tangible benefits. After all, if children still do not part with their gadgets, it is better to guide them in the right direction.

What is necessary to create a QR code?

It is not difficult to create QR codes. You can do it even if you don't teach computer science and have no background in programming. At the moment there are many QR code generators, which will simplify this task. However, as with all products of the market, it is necessary to pay attention to some peculiarities:

• Functionality. To begin with, you need to understand what types of QR codes you need to create. And then check whether all of them are offered in the generator's assortment.
• The format of the codes you get. For a convenient placement, the QR code must have a vector format (for example, .svg). Images of such formats do not lose quality when scaled. Just remember that the codes must be at least 2*2 cm, otherwise, there may be problems with their scanning.
• The presence of dynamic QR codes. As it has already been mentioned, such codes are capable of changing their content without changing their appearance.
• Viewing of statistics. Just because the above-mentioned type of codes supports tracking doesn't mean that any generator can provide convenient tools for its viewing.
• Design tools. Perhaps you don't need to get fancy with the design of QR codes to start with. But think about the fact that good-looking codes will be better received by students.
• Price. And, of course, perhaps the most important thing. Carefully study the pricing policy of the generators. They may ask you to pay extra for some features.
  But since you won't need to create codes on an industrial scale or other particularly advanced features, there are free QR code generators that meet all the other criteria above.

Try it yourself - the use of this technology is not limited to the specified examples, only your imagination.  Well, of course, apply QR codes wisely, without abusing them. In this case, they can serve as a great experience both for you, the tutor, and the students.