QR Codes?

By now you will have seen them somewhere – newspapers, bulletin boards, real-estate ads, wine bottles, magazines and so on.

These intriguing little boxes called QR Codes (Quick Response) have embedded information in them that can potentially be used in lesson plans, classroom projects, Smart Board activities … you name it.

Your smart phone will need a QR code reader. There are many free apps that can be downloaded for this purpose; a lot of them are absolutely free and will take a minute or less to install. I found one for my BlackBerry called “Simple Scanner”.

To create a code you can start by downloading a QR-Code generator from the Internet. I started using one called QR-Code generator ( shareware trial application).

You can also use online services that are  free of charge.   Just do a Google search for QR-Code generators and you will see the great variety of sources and applications available to you in an instant.

Regardless what path or source you choose to create a QR-code the result is the same.  The information you embed into these codes will be transformed into an image file (jpg) that can be easily added to any document, hardcopy or online.

These funny looking “scribble boxes” can be used (aside for all the existing commercial applications) in a variety of educational contexts and contents because they are a fun way to deliver information to students in different settings and through different media (print, online, posters).

Students will use their QR-Codes scanners on their smart phones and retrieve their homework instructions, assessments,  comments and feedback, marks , instruction for assignments , lab report data etc.

Parent could receive information this way too!  But that’s another Blog Post!

Here is a QR Code that I created for this blog post in less than 5 minutes (by the way – this is honestly my first time doing this) … find out what it says!

As always I welcome your comments and feedback llista6@gmail.com

Luciano