Flip Videos and QR Codes: Building Kids Interest in Books

Students in my classroom work together in book clubs. Currently, there are 5 book clubs running that feature books from different genres. As a way to respond to the books they read, and help encourage future students to read the best books, students will work in groups to create video book trailers (similar to movie trailers) that summarize important events in the novels they read.

The students will act out, record, edit and produce their trailers using Flip cameras, Adobe Premier Pro video editing software, and the power of our classroom blog to get feedback on their script ideas. The trailers will then be shared in two ways:

1. Our classroom website will host the videos so that students from around the school, the country and the world, along with their parents can see our students' work and decide if these books are right for them.

2. The students will use Goo.gl to make links to their videos into QR codes, which will be printed and secured to the inside front cover of copies of the books in our classroom library. The codes can then be scanned with a webcam, and the book trailers will play, giving kids the ability to preview a book before they read it in a visual way.

My classroom in an integrated one, meaning that many of my students have disabilities that make learning more challenging. Incorporating engaging technology in this way will allow these students to express themselves in multi-media, and become active "creators" in our classroom.