Next Up: RedLaser

This week's app is a multi-functioning scanner that can be used on most any smart phone and tablet with a camera. The name? RedLaser. Many people have heard of this tool before, but probably not for use inside of the classroom. I am going to give you just a few ways that you might use this app in the classroom.

First things first, let me describe what RedLaser actually does. This is an app that scans a bar code or a QR code (I'll go into more detail about these later). After it scans the bar codes, it will give you a description of the item. Sometimes these are rather detailed descriptions, sometimes they are quite vague. It just depends on the item being scanned. It will also allow you to search online and nearby stores for a price comparison.

I'm sure you can tell that I'm going to turn this into a math project! Many students already have smartphones that can use this app and it just so happens to be free! In many classrooms, you may actually be able to allow students to use their cell phones for educational purposes! Ok...I may be showing my teacher side a bit now. Anyway, these could easily be used to have students create a budget and then use this app to scan items from their house and compare the cheapest prices found to what was actually paid. It is a great way to teach students how to save money and how quickly saving money can add up!

The other side of RedLaser is the QR scanner. This is one item I love to use. The reason? Well, it is really just a quick way to get to a website. For instance, if you scan the QR code on the right, it will direct you to this blog! There are plenty of websites out there that will allow you to create these for free. I used this one to generate the code on the right. On a later blog, I will show you a site that allows you to create a scavenger hunt out of these codes. I did this with my Algebra I class and had them solving equations while racing all over campus. I have also placed these on the bottom of a worksheet to give the students a link to the solutions to their homework. You could also link students to suggested websites to assist them in any topic.

I'm sure teachers will find many other uses for this app in the future, and if you have any ideas yourself, I would love to hear them. Please comment any ideas you may have for this app yourself. In later blogs, I will refer to this app again, because I have found quite a few ways that these may be used and I'm still trying to implement these in different ways in my own class.