QR codes, or Quick Response codes, are popping up all around us. They are in newspapers, magazines, tv commercials and elsewhere. What are they?
According to wikipedia, a QR code is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) that is readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera telephones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded may be text, URL, or other data. Read more on wikipedia.
They are also popping up in education. The scan above is from Meridian Technology Center and is the first QR code I have seen in use by a technology center.
There are lots of exciting applications for QR codes. Maybe you have a statue at the front of your campus. A quick scan of the QR code leads them to more infomration about what it is. Maybe in the classroom it can be used to direct students to online videos of a science experiment that they are conducting or lead people at your graduation ceremony to more infomration on the job market. Put them in your viewbook so a person can scan them and then watch a video specifically about the career major that they are interested in. There are lots of applications out there, your imagination is the limit.
Are you using QR codes? How are you using the codes? Just like social media, if you are going to use them, QR codes should be a part of your overall integrated marketing and recruitment strategy, not your entire strategy. Wherever the QR code goes should be branded and feel just like your website and the rest of your web presence. It should add value to the user experience and not something that you are doing, just becuase you can.
The CareerTech Testing Center, CIMC, and MAVCC are all currently using QR codes. You can find them on the CareerTech Testing Center Blog and at our booth at the 2011 Oklahoma Career and Technology Education Summer Conference. You will also be seeing them on more of our web pages, catalogs, etc. in the near future!
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