QR Codes - And the Winning Video

This is overdue, but I'm excited to be pointing it out for those who haven't yet seen it.

This video, by Allison Burke (student) and Laura Jacob (teacher) won 1st Prize in this year's SIGML (Special Interest Group for Mobile Learning) contest. First, congratulations to Allison and Laura. Laura also won a scholarship from ISTE for her work. What a team, eh?

So, the first part is to congratulate the student and her teacher, but the second part is to showcase this idea that they discuss in their video. QR Codes. Ever heard of them? I hadn't until I had the chance to talk to Allison and Laura at ISTE this year. I also had a chance to talk to Allison at her booth in the student showcase, and she showed me how easy it was to make these. So, combine easy with powerful and you've got a winner.

Watch the video (below) and show it to your teachers, too. I love the idea of filming labs, and audio files. I love the idea of linking to audio files of book reviews made by the students. think about how this can add new dimensions to the student newspaper, and other printed information for parents. Give it some thought and I'm sure you can quickly find meaningful applications in your subject, as well.

The process involves downloading a free application from the web, making the resource (podcast, video, etc) and printing the QR code. Allison made it look and sound so easy.

Congratulations again to Allison and Laura. And, if any of you get into this process, let me know. I'd love to pass it along to them so that they know who they've inspired.



BTW - the revised version of this video that acts as the announcement to students is here.

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Posted in: ISTE,QR Code

Interesting Uses of QR Codes for Educators

Many of us are used to seeing those familiar UPC Codes on products that can be scanned at the check out counters to look up the price and product name. While attending the DevLearn 09 Conference I came across another type of bar code called the QR Code. While I had seen them in different venues I did not at first grasp how they might be used during a conference or in an educational setting. At the DevLearn 09, QR Codes could be found on the signage of every workshop that when read by a QR Reader on a smartphone would take you to a web site for additional information about the presentation. While QR Codes have been popular in Japan, they are just beginning to gain popularity in the United States and Europe. I obtained this information from Wikipedia about QR Codes which I though would be of interest to you:

A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The "QR" is derived from "Quick Response", as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.

QR Codes are common in Japan, where they are currently the most popular type of two dimensional codes. Moreover, most current Japanese mobile phones can read this code with their camera.

With the rise in the number of smartphones (Android, iPhones, Blackberry) in use, QR Codes become a great way for "tagging" physical information that links to a URL. With a QR Reader installed you can simply point your camera phone at the QR Code and be instantly taken to a website to provide your viewers with additional information. You can embed text, RSS feeds, and URL's in a QR Code. Imagine printing the code on lectures, notes or study guides so that your students can be supplied with supplemental information. Or how about adding QR codes to physical objects in your environment and have your students learn more about the topic. The use of QR codes are endless! So give it a try and let me know what you think. So download a QR Reader to your smartphone and give this QR Code a try! To generate and print out a QR code go to the Kaywa website. So point your smartphone camera at the QR Code below to see what happens!

One Sentence Summary Created with Context Organizer With a QR Reader installed you can simply point your camera phone at the QR Code and be instantly taken to a website to provide your viewers with additional information.

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Posted in: Android,Blackberry Curve,devlearn 2009,iphone,QR Code,smartphone