Using QR Codes and Mobile Phones for Learning Thomas McNeal Mark van ’t Hooft 2010 eTech Ohio Conference Columbus, Ohio

Cell Phones Today phones are used for almost everything. Whether they are or not, people are using them like computers. They are no longer just for calling but also for surfing the internet, navigation, taking pictures, shooting video, playing games, sending text messages, checking s and many other activities.

The Geo-Historian Project Mobile wireless technology has drastically changed how we communicate. It also has the potential to be an educational tool for the classroom teacher. The Geo-Historian Project utilizes wireless technology to link classrooms with local historical landmarks. Using cell phones, students can become video historians, creating a living history of real people and real places shared via wireless devices.

Our Project The GeoHistorian project was created to: Investigate cell phones as an educational tool; Demonstrate how resource sites near and far (museums, zoos, etc.) can be valuable classroom resources; Demonstrate how digital content can be used to amplify learning at such sites; Give students the opportunity to create digital resources for their communities.

Cell Phones as Educational Tools Students produce short video and audio clips and web pages for cell phones. They also create QR or 2D codes that can be scanned by a cell phone reader. Once scanned, the video, sound, or web site embedded in the code will be displayed on the cell phone. In this presentation we will share the tools we’ve used and show you how we created the QR codes, video clips, and mobile web pages.

Trying It Out We have not had the opportunity yet to implement the GeoHistorian project with students, but we will soon. In order to try out our ideas we created a learning activity using cell phones, QR codes, and digital content of the World War II Memorial in Washington DC (2009 NECC Conference).

So What Do You Need? QR Codes QR Code Creator and Reader Digital Content Mobile Website Smart Phone

QR or 2D Codes Here is an example of a QR Code. It looks like a checker board with white and black squares. This code can be placed on a variety of surfaces such as paper and textile, and embedded in digital sources such as websites or video clips.

QR Codes Come in Many Shapes and Sizes Winksite Scanlife QR CodeSema Code QuickMarkShotcode

Some Examples

2D Creators and Readers Kaywa: and QR Stuff: QuickMark: ScanLife:

2D Creators and Readers: ScanLife Navigate to ScanLife Sign up for an account Select your carrier Select your phone Follow on-screen directions for downloading

Creating QD or 2D Codes Scanlife makes it easy to create codes Just log in and click “create codes” Name your code and add your URL Click “publish” and you’re done Let me show you …

Examples of 2D Codes Users can create codes for video clips, sound clips, websites and just text. Here are some examples

Formats for Video and Audio clips There is lots of existing content you can link to, or you can make your own. Smart phones from different carriers all have different operating systems and require different video and audio formats. Windows mobile - Windows Media Video (WMV) iPhone - QuickTime (MOV) Android – Mpeg4 (mp4) Audio - WAVE or WAV, short for Waveform Audio File Format

Creating a Mobile Website Mobile website creators are also very useful for creating digital learning content for mobile phones. Examples are Jagag: Mobisitegalore: Winksite: Wirenode: Zinadoo:

Creating with Wirenode Sign-up for an account Select create a website Select a format Save and publish to the web. Make a note of the URL for your 2D code Mobile websites creator - Wirenode For our project we have been using Wirenode, which makes it easy to create rich mobile pages and mobile websites with minimal effort.

What’s New? Google Goggles! Google Goggles lets you search from your cell phone simply by snapping a photo. Want more info on a product? Take its picture. Need info about a business? Photograph the storefront. Put simply, this thing packs some serious power, and its capabilities stretch far. Still in beta stage Only runs on Android phones right now. Google Goggles

Questions? Thomas McNeal Mark van ‘t Hooft

Links DVC Project RCET: WWII Memorial video: Scanlife Wirenode Google Goggles