What the QR??

Lately I've been noticing magazine advertisements and store pricing tags with those strange graphic squares called QR codes (Quick Response Codes). I've been meaning to find out more about these codes and I found a great site on them just today! They are being used in marketing and now it appears that they are being used in education.

First, check out Steven Anderson's blog post on QR codes http://web20classroom.blogspot.com/2010/12/qr-huh-what-heck-is-qr-code.html . Watch a short video (under 3 minutes) for an introduction. Then view the suggested QR code apps to download on various types of smart phones (and yes--there is one for the Android phone!). The article goes on to explain how to create QR codes and later includes a video that explains how you can use QR codes without a phone.

Joanne Meier in her blog article "Scan and learn? QR Codes in the Classroom" posted in Reading Rockets http://www.readingrockets.org/blog/41550 explains that the use of QR codes and mobile devices are motivating for students. The benefit for teachers is that the content is accurate and available instantly. Plus setting up different codes for different students allows opportunity for differentiated instruction.

For library uses, the QR codes can be used to promote books as well as create a scavenger hunt for information. Gwyneth Anne Bronwynne Jones, author of The Daring Librarian blog http://www.thedaringlibrarian.com/2010/12/hot-qr-codes-in-classroom-library.html addresses possible uses of QR codes and student smart phones for library lessons.

So if you are interested to learn of other opportunities to utilize QR codes in your classroom or library, head now to the site I found today from Jerry Blumengarten's Cybrary Man's Educational Web Sites featuring QR Codes http://www.cybraryman.com/qrcodes.html .