A Use for QR Codes in Education

I recently installed the (FREE!) iPhone app i-nigma on my phone, and I have been enjoying playing around with it. For those unfamiliar with it, it is a QR code reader. Here is a quick description of QR codes from prepressure.com:

A QR or Quick Response code is a two-dimensional barcode. These are often used for adding web links to a printed page. When you scan such a QR bar code using a web cam or mobile phone camera, the QR reader application takes you to a Web site, a YouTube video or some other web content. QR codes are an easy way of sending people to a site without having to type a URL.

After toying with the codes for a bit, I had an idea for using them in education. The Fine Arts teachers in my school often display student work on the walls. We even have an art show every spring. QR codes can add another dimension to the traditional display. We can have students make a web page to go along with their pieces. The page can include, among other things, a written reflection on the work by the student who created it. The nice thing about this is that it integrates writing and technology into the arts curriculum. The students can then create a QR code to link to the web page and paste it next to their displayed work to enhance the experience of the audience viewing it. It is a very convenient means of allowing the people looking at the work to easily learn more about it. All the person needs is to have a QR code reader installed on his/her smartphone.

The other idea I had has to do with going paperless. We have several performances throughout the year, including four different plays/musicals. A program is made for each of these, and hundreds of them are printed each time. QR codes allow us to drastically cut the number of copies needed. Instead, we can digitize the programs, put them online, and generate a QR code to link to them. Rather than handing out paper copies of the program to everyone, we can post a few copies of the QR code on the wall so that willing audience members can scan them and go right to the digital version. As an added bonus, they can see a much more interactive version of the program than is possible with a hard copy.