Ah... the QR code

Last fall, in IST 605, I first learned of the illustrious QR codes. I even did a post with a QR code in it. If you want to take a look here it is.

QR codes are clever little guys. Not only can they link to websites, they can lead you to download documents or produce text when scanned. They are very versatile. Here are the ideas for using QR codes in an educational setting:

• Library Hours or other general information
• Link to the library website
• Style manual download
• Access to databases, research tools
• Teacher specific links for projects

As with all technology, QR codes are not perfect, they to have flaws. If a link were to go dead, the QR code is not going to be smart enough to change. The information the code presents needs to be imputed by a human. Therefore, if you have generated codes that link to urls, they will need to be checked.

There is also the issue that not ever one has a QR reader, though I image that it won't be long till they do. Therefore, the information being provided cannot be exclusive to the code. You cannot expect every student to access the information in this way. However, it is nice to have the option available (and they look pretty cool).