QR Reader Codes in the FL Class

I have to admit, sometimes it's boring to go over chapter vocabulary in class.  I needed a fresh new way to get students engaged and excited to work on vocabulary.  But how?  I then remembered that my colleague Ben Revkin, latin teacher extraordinaire and in-house tech wizard, had showed our department how to create QR codes.

• First, I downloaded a free QR Reader app on my smartphone.  I have an iPhone, but it works as well on other phones.  
• Then, I visited a free QR code generator site.  On the site, I was able to write definitions, in Spanish, of the vocabulary.  I wrote a description of the word, just as in the game Taboo, without mentioning the actual word, using circumlocution as I had had the students do in class the day before.  
• I downloaded 10 of the definitions I wrote and the site generated a QR code for me.  I then printed them out and hung them around the school.
• Next, the students were asked to download the free QR app on their phones.  Some of their phones didn't allow them to download in the class and others did.  
• I grouped the students who had the app with those who didn't.  They were given specific instructions to scan the code, read the code and then move on to look for the next code in the hallway.  They were also instructed to be as quiet as possible so as to not disrupt the other students in their classes.  They were also told that this was a competition to see which group finished first and with the correct responses.
• After they found all 10 codes and scanned them, they were instructed to come back to class and in their group work out which word I was describing, without the use of their textbooks or notes.

There are 2 things I love about this activity.  One, the students had fun walking around the room with the air of a competition at stake.  Two, they were also all really engaged and working collaboratively to come up with the correct response.  The first group to hand in their responses and for them to be all correct won "Fabulous Spanish Stickers".  Now tell me, which kid doesn't love a sticker?
An example of a QR code.

source: kpontarelli.blogspot.com