Thinking Outside-the-Box With QR Codes

by Noah Geisel

I was introduced to QR Codes by Kevin Gaugler's presentation at the 2009 ACTFL convention, when he showed off the Robert Downey Jr. cover of Esquire magazine that employed QR Codes. Simply put, I was wowed. Since then, I've seen a dramatic rise in the use of QR Codes in magazines, on busses and in classrooms but often find the application of the tool to be uninspiring. Marketers (and we educators are in the business of marketing knowledge and skills) employing QR Codes are limited only by their creativity in the uses of this tool and I, for one, would like to see people thinking more outside-the-box.

For example, I recently attended an exhibit at the Denver Art Museum and saw that in addition to descriptions of the art and artists on the placards of each piece in the show, there were QR Codes. Excited for a socially appropriate opportunity to break out my smart phone at the museum, I scanned the code and voila: the same information that was on the placard now appeared on my phone's screen, only many times smaller. Value added: zero.

Last week, I went to what was billed as a QR Code art show. More than 20 QR Codes had been enlarged and hung on the walls. When scanned, the codes linked to a cell phone screen-sized picture of each artist's work. Somewhat snazzy, but again there was no value added. Personally, I'd rather see the full-sized works.

An example of an inspired, outside-the-box approach to using QR Codes is in the photography show of Denver math teacher and travel photographer Paul Knickerbocker. Each picture in his show is named after the town and country where it was taken. Additionally, each picture's placard features a QR Code that, when scanned, links to a Google Map that Mr. Knickerbocker created on which the pictures have been geo tagged and annotated with brief descriptions of the shots. This is a use that adds value! It allows people to learn more about each picture and have multiple ways to connect with them. It opens the door to art patrons conversing with the artist without his having to be at the gallery every day. The QR Codes are used in order to bring something new to the table, not just recycle the same content to a mobile device.

As we seek out ways to engage our 21st Century learners, QR Codes are an attractive option. The challenge is not to find opportunities to integrate them but to do so in ways that, like Mr. Knickerbocker's travel photography show, enhance content and users' experiences. Failure to think outside-the-box can lead to presenting the same information on a smaller screen and that is a tough sell for the learners in our target market.

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**Cybraryman's resource page is a great starting place for educators to explore ways to utilize QR Codes in the classroom**

Remembrance of Things Past: What is the new iPad ad suggesting about Apple's intended audience for the new device?

What is the new iPad ad suggesting about Apple's intended audience for the new device?



First of all, despite the edgy-guitar pop hooks that give the soundtrack to this ad that iPod flavor, the visuals are completely... well... milquetoast. We're in a house decorated by Pottery Barn with a couple of indeterminable age who favor bluejeans and skiing.

The couple are 'readers'... you know, they read 'books' and 'newspapers'; no Boing Boing or Daily Dish in this house, kids. Chatroulette is right out.

Second, they love the travel. They read the 'Escape' section of the Times and have friends who send them pics of trips to Switzerland. We might assume that these folks have made it through the Great Recession alright and are looking for an opportunity to drop some buckage on a hotel with a hot tub and a view.

When it comes to scheduling events, it looks like they have plenty of free time on Wednesdays; perhaps they'll sneak in a few hours to read the Ted Kennedy bio. On second thought, maybe Wednesdays are best spent looking at pictures of the kids and the dog. (Note, ironically, that the interior in this commercial is obviously not the interior of any domicile containing multiple children and a dog.)

Next shot: look! They write emails that look exactly like 'real' letters!

And then, just when I thought I had the market for this device pegged as upper middle class Boomers: they go and throw in that snowboarding article. How edgy! Why, we must actually be looking into the secret life of a Gen Xer with typical 1960's fetishes -- Kennedy, The Doors -- and definitely not folks who'd prefer receiving a letter on 'paper'.

Or are we?

One of the things that's most striking about this ad is the way it blurs together stereotypical Boomer and Gen X interests and tendencies into a composite whole. Notably absent from the video are any of the ways people will actually most often use this device (3rd party apps, 3rd party apps, 3rd party apps) [and I should add 'making stuff', though as of now, there appears to be no simple way ala the typical Macbook avenues to 'make stuff']; instead we're presented with Apple-lite for folks interested in the technology thing, but who have real lives planning ski trips and giving harbor to nostalgia dressed up as hipness.

I'm struck by the images of media that I caught the first time I watched the ad: Star Trek, Steven King, Jim Morrison. There is nothing remotely 21st century about this. The device might be as "magical" as all get-out; but the ad campaign -- and we can assume the intended market's world view -- is entirely based in nostalgia -- and I'd argue -- a certain big-company-fed cynicism towards new media and what's actually happening NOW on the Web.

A Postcard that Demonstrates Everything Wrong with American Education

I've taught lots of different courses.

I started out teaching English to Freshmen and then went on to teach American Lit and British Lit to Juniors and Seniors respectively. For years, I've taught Latin from the Beginner course through both of the AP offerings. In the Fine Arts, I've had the pleasure to teach AP Art History as well as my own course in Digital Audio Production. And this year, I've begun the transition into Social Studies teaching with two sections of Freshmen in West Civ.

I like teaching.

But I get the feeling that my idea of what teaching looks like just ain't what the powers that be think teaching must look like.

Take the College Board.

Today in the mail, I got a postcard invitation to sign up for an AP Summer Institute. That's great. I've often found that I learn a lot -- especially from other teachers -- at these sorts of things. I haven't been to an AP institute, but I have taken part in two institutes run under the NEH and I found each to be an invigorating experience.

So, it's not the idea of taking part in that sort of program that makes me feel weird. Rather, it was the picture on the front of the postcard.

Now, this postcard came from Delaware, so I'm going to assume that it was mailed out to every school in the US Mid-Atlantic that offers AP programs. So, if you are in a high school in Delaware, Maryland, Eastern PA, and the surrounding area, there's a good chance there's one floating around your building. You should track it down and check it out.

Because I think that the picture on this postcard demonstrates everything wrong with American education.

In the center of the postcard stands a smiling teacher pointing and presumably calling on a student. Behind him  hangs a map and a chalkboard. In front of him is a desk cluttered with ring binders and a book. One of the ring binders is open and it appears that this is the text from which he has been lecturing. His students are seated at desks in rows. Nothing is on their desks: no books, no laptops. Two of the students are raising their hands. The teacher is pointing to one of them.

Everything about this scene -- from the roll-up map, to the blackboard, to the teacher's position in the classroom, to his desk at the front, to the ring binders, to the rows of students, to the orderliness of raising your hand to be called on -- screams of static education.

Static education is the bane of my existence.

Static education is the precise thing that progressive educators -- be they heavy on the tech, light on the tech, post-paper, or pro-paperback -- are fighting against.

And here it is presented in all it's glory on the front of a postcard from the College Board emblazoned with the tagline: Improve your school's AP program!

Hey, College Board, I've got an idea for you: can your art director / marketing person and pay a real progressive educator to take a few candid snapshots for you of what dynamic education actually looks like.

Dell Must Hate Us

Ok, so what does the Computer World think of us Ed Techies? Well, here's a clue as to what Dell thinks:

r u kidding? I am freaking out - I totally hav a problem! NYC is my fave!

Maybe that's not representative as to the corporate line... how about this:

either way not as tummy w/o the tequila:)

No, no, that's not it... how about:

showing my hubby how Twitter works, can anyone say hi? TY! :)

I'm sorry, I have to step away for a minute to throw up.

You see, these are not the rambling Tweets of a totally-freaking-out sorority girl wannabe. These are the 'official' public Tweets of the lead representative of Dell Computer's Edu4U program.

Now, I'm all for playful Tweets. There is a time and place for everything. And I'm sure that I've got more than my fair share of comments on the Web that can easily be taken out of context. I'm not a newb. I know how these things work. But, in looking over "Bri's" Tweets today, we're talking about the world's second largest computer-seller portraying Ed Tech teachers and thinkers as the Gossip Girls.

Now, why is this freaky and not just in bad taste?

Because Mark Horan, Vice President and General Manager for Dell’s Public Accounts group in the United States, is on the board of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

It is absolutely unlikely that the folks involved in Mr. Horan's work on that board would not be aware of the tenor of Dell's Ed Tech flagship site.

This is unacceptable.

If nothing else, it undermines the professionalism of the thousands of educators and ed tech thinkers who actually rely on Twitter and various Web 2.0 sites on a daily basis both for information and as platforms for creative expression and learning in their classes.

We're catching enough hell for trying to use these resources to teach kids. The last thing we need is a fake Ed Techie obscuring what we're trying to do with Valley Girl talk.

As a teacher who has been actively experimenting with Twitter as a learning tool and who has seen Twitter infuse the engagement of students with a fresh spirit, as well as better assessment scores, I find Dell's foray into social networking to be insulting and completely out-of-touch.