Real World Examples of How QR Codes Enhance Education

QR codes are very flexible and versatile that they are not only useful in marketing but they have also been proven to be a good way to make learning easier and fun, to enhance how the students retain information and learn, and also to provide new ways for instruction.

To further explain the idea of using QR codes in education, here are some real-world examples on what have been done so far.

1. Periodic Table of Elements with QR codes. An Italian student came up with a periodic table of elements that included QR codes. Scanning the code in each element gives you the complete name of the element along with other information such as its atomic weight and density.

2. QR Codes on Books. A recent forum post on the BeQrious forums (See Donald Duck gets QR coded!)  talks about how a Danish version of a Donald Duck comic were peppered with QR codes, which when scanned gave you animation and sound effects. An earlier thread shows how this was done on a book (see QR codes make classics come alive with multimedia content).

As these two examples illustrate, QR codes can provide multimedia links to books and other printed materials. In the case of the book “Around the World in 80 Days”, the QR codes direct the reader to interactive maps, audio and video content. So the reader is not only limited to the written word in reading the classic!

3. Users of the online learning management system, Moodle, can now get QR codes included in the materials that they print from the online courses on the platform. This way, if you need to access the page on your mobile phone, you can easily scan the code and be taken to the page in an instant.

4. QR Codes in Libraries. The ACU Library uses QR codes in its exhibits that when scanned takes you to videos, Web sites and enables you to search the library’s catalog. QR codes also make searching for books a little bit easier at the Bath University Library, which gives browser information about the book such as its call number and physical location. Ryerson University Library, on the other hand, allows users to scan a QR code to get an audio tour of the facility.

QR codes are changing the classrooms and how people are being educated. Do you know of other instances where QR codes can help students learn? Share it with us!