QR Quest

Ancient trade routes brought merchants throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The study of those routes brought students throughout the hallways of Windsor Central High School, not in search of spices, silk or gold, but QR codes, knowledge and a little extra credit. 

10th graders in Mrs. Ponterio’s AP World History class worked in pairs to use their phones and Chromebooks to read 40 QR codes placed around the school. Each code lead the student to a slide with information about the ancient routes. They needed to separate the slides into different trade routes: Gold Salt Trade, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, or Silk Road. 
 
Two teenage male students standing in hallway holding laptops 

“It’s about student engagement. It changes things up, gets them around the building and working as a team,” said Mrs. Ponterio. 

“I think it’s a lot better this way, rather than a lecture,” said Andrew Campbell. 

Students also learned about the perils of the trade routes, including bandits and the spread of bubonic plague. The team that compiled the information the fastest will got five bonus points on the next test.

“I think it’s fun. It’s more interested than sitting in a classroom. There’s more freedom. I’ve never had a lesson like this,” said Sydney Christensen.
“I think it’s fun but it’s also more time consuming,” said Ryan Pry.

“It’s fun to walk around but there’s no desk to write on. That’s the only hard part,” said John Isham. 

Ponterio says she and Mrs. Bidwell are talking about doing an event such as this again, or possibly incorporating an escape room in a future lesson. 
 
Teenage male student sitting in hallway writing on paper on his leg

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