Quick Response (QR) Codes


Background
A few days ago I received a Diigo Teacher-Librarian alert to Gwyneth Jones’s QR Code Comic Tutorial. Her comic format is a great vehicle for sharing basic information. Her picture reminded me about a Scholarly Kitchen post by Michael Clarke (11 December 2009) Get a Whiff of Google’s Augmented Reality Stickers.

Some Discoveries
I followed up that link with a visit to The Big Wild campaign that is using posters in seven Canadian cities, “hoping to entice smartphone owners to scan the image and access one of our mobile-friendly petition pages.”

The Big Wild poster uses “a QR code, or 2-D barcode. These codes–they look kind of like crossword puzzles, can be read by the cameras on smartphones. They can store text information, SMS messages or (as is the case with our campaign) a URL for a website.”
From the Big Wild I visited the Wikipedia entry on Quick Response Codes, then went on to learn more about Denso Wave’s development of QR code as a particular form of 2-D code and noted that QR Code is a registered trademark of Denso Wave Incorporated. (I was surprised to learn that it was developed in 1994 “with the primary aim of being a symbol that is easily interpreted by scanner equipment”.) This is a link to QR Code Features. This is a link to Denso Wave. From Wikipedia I noted that “The use of the QR Code is free of any license. The QR Code is clearly defined and published as ISO standard. Denso Wave owns the patent rights on QR Code, but has chosen not to exercise them.”
Thereafter I found the 2d Code Blog edited by Roger Smolski. From 2d I followed up on some Australian links including: JMango and Ilan Oosting; and Jarrod Robinson.  I found Jarrod’s Prezi on Qr Codes, and his blog. Whilst searching for Jarrod I discovered a great post in the Physical Educator by Joey Feith.
Revelation

After this journey of discovery I am very excited by the potential of QR codes to inform and develop my work. I am delighted that I traveled the globe to find a PE teacher in country Victoria but profoundly disappointed that I have only just found his work. Gwyneth and Jarrod embody for me the wonderful altruism teachers exhibit and exude. I am going to monitor their work very carefully and hang where the wild things are.
Postscript
After posting this item I have discovered:
QR Codes: The nuts and bolts (David Hopkins, 17 January)
QR Codes in a Journal (Kent Anderson, 31 January)
Why QR Codes Will Go Mainstream (Hamilton Chan, 9 March)
QR Codes in Education (Steve Anderson, 8 March)
I did blog about QR codes throughout 2011. This is a link to all my QR posts.
Photo Credits
QR codes generated by Kaywa

14 COMMENTS

    • Jarrod
      Thank you for visiting the post. Your work fascinates me and this post was prompted by your and Gwyneth’s energy.
      Best wishes
      Keith

  1. Just for fun, one day I’ll make a QR code for goatse (or some similarly offensive site), make stickers of them, put them up around time, and watch as people stop slack-jawed in horror. It has never occurred to them – or anybody, it seems – that having something that obscures the URL can be used for some really nasty purposes.

    • Stephen
      I take your point! I live in a world of innocence so this use had not occurred to me. I was thinking about their potential in Open Access spaces. I wondered if the Commons could be enriched by these resources. I was thinking, for example, of pointing students in these spaces to your work. I was thinking oo of the didactic potential of these codes.
      Thank you for calling by and helping me understand a profound limitation of this approach!
      Best wishes
      Keith

  2. Thank you so much for including my comic in your blog! I loved your links & enjoyed reading the journey you had discovering the lure of the QR code! (and the extra links you discovered, too! Score!) Thanks also for your kind words!
    Cheers!
    ~Gwyneth

    • Gwyneth
      It was great to have the serendipity of the Diigo update that led me to you. I am in awe of what you are doing.
      Best wishes
      Keith

  3. Perhaps we address SD’s very valid concern by always including the URL below the QR code. Abbreviated URL services have started including hint as to the domain they’re pointing to now, perhaps QR codes should too.. Personally, I prefer to use QR codes for phone specific content and in text only, like contact details. That could include a URL of course, and leave it up to the user to decide what they do with it. Perhaps Tweets could be turned into QR codes…

    • Leigh
      Thanks for posting your comment. I wonder about trust and trusted networks. I am very naive about this QR opportunity.
      I wondered too if we used them in assured contexts whether that minimises the risk that Stephen and you have identified.
      Best wishes
      Keith

    • Theodora
      Thank you for finding my post. I am very interested in and impressed by your campaign. I live in rural NSW, Australia near the Monga Forest. My nearest town, Braidwodd, hosts the Two Fires Festival that resonates with your goals.
      Best wishes
      Keith

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