Create free quizzes for cellphones/ Facebook/ Moodle May 24, 2008
Posted by Leonard Low in 2D Barcodes, Applications, Assessment, Interactive, Mobile, Mobile LOs, Mobile Phone, Products.3 comments
Here’s today’s awesome m-learning find: a website where anyone can create a multiple choice quiz which is compatible with the vast majority of current mobile phones (it runs as a Java application, which most of today’s cellphones support).
The site is called Mobile Study, and the finished multiple choice quizzes can be downloaded to a mobile phone from a computer, by visiting a URL with a mobile phone browser, via an SMS message (a small allocation of free messages is provided for each account), or even by using a QR Code (which you should be able to do if you’ve been following my thread on 2D Barcodes!). If you or your students prefer Social Web applications to mobile ones, it’s also worth noting that quizzes can be made for Facebook, and if a walled garden is your course approach of choice, yes, quizzes can even be imported into Moodle.
Given that there are a large number of ACT Innovative E-Learning Projects that have, as a component, various formative assessment needs, this site should prove to be extremely useful!
You can try out some of the sample quizzes here - they can be done online to give you an idea of how the quizzes provide feedback, or you can install the sample quizzes to your mobile phone for the full m-learning experience.
Happy quizzing!
(via Ignatia Webs)
Tags: quiz, quizzes, assessment, jar, java, jad, mlearning, m-learning, mobilelearning, mobile, learning, mobile-learning, education, mobile study, mobilestudy, mobile-study, qr code, qrcode, 2dbarcode, 2d barcode, qr-code, 2d-barcode
Andy Ramsden: Are QR Codes the Future of Mobile Learning? March 27, 2008
Posted by Leonard Low in 2D Barcodes, Pedagogy.1 comment so far
I posted the following response to Andy Ramsden’s blog post on this topic:
I’ve been researching the use of 2D barcodes (and particularly QR Codes) in education for over two years now. I’ve been very interested in their use in education as I immediately recognised their power for linking situated learning opportunities with instructional and interactive learning opportunities when I first read about them. I’ve since investigated alternatives such as RFID, and I still think that 2D barcodes have some big advantages, especially when it comes to things like cost and ease of (re)production - 2D barcodes can be printed for free, whereas RFID tags cost around $1 each in small quantities.
Where I see QR Codes becoming obsolete is through the rapidly improving processing capabilities of mobile devices, which are on the cusp of becoming capable of reading and interpreting printed text. Once phones become able to recognise a printed URL, for example, the use of a QR Code to “represent” a URL becomes superfluous… an unnecessary (and non-human-readable) duplication of information. Text-recognition will also be far more flexible than QR Codes; potentially, semantic constructs could be used to allow the recognition of an infinite variety of different types of data, the same way that OCR currently works on desktop computers.
In brief, I’m still very interested in QR Codes as being the current best and most cost effective technology for mobile data capture; but I’m already looking towards a future where QR Codes will be obsolete.
I can think of some examples where QR Codes might still be preferable to unencoded text recognition; but in most cases, I believe the impending ability of cellphones to read printed (and hand-written) text will replace QR Codes for situated mobile learning approaches, even before such use becomes popular in education!
I guess my answer to Andy’s question must be “no” - I think QR Codes are a *current* strategy for mobile learning, for those educators interested enough to use them; but I definitely can’t imagine them being the *future*.
Tags: mlearning, m-learning, mobile learning, mobilelearning, mobile-learning, education, andyramsden, andy ramsden, qrcode, qr code, 2d barcode, 2dbarcode, qr-code, semacode, datamatrix, learning
ZXing Open Source Barcode Library January 18, 2008
Posted by Leonard Low in 2D Barcodes, Applications, Products.add a comment
Most regular readers of this blog will be familiar with my interest in the use of 2D barcodes as a means of providing a link from a physical object or location to an online resource using an ordinary camera phone.
I’ve just found an open-source Google Code project called ZXing, which is an open-source project to build a cross-platform barcode reader library. If it succeeds in its aims, it looks like it could become one of the best, most flexible readers available, and because it’s open source, it should be possible to incorporate it into related educational projects such as integration with augmented reality learning resources.
ZXing’s successful implementation to power the Facebook QR Codes application demonstrates its early potential.
This is one project I’ll be following closely!
Tags: zxing, 2d barcodes, 2d barcode, qr code, qrcode, datamatrix, semacode, reader, 2dbarcode, mobile code, open source, project, opensource, m-learning, mlearning, mobile learning, mobilelearning, mobile-learning, google, barcode, barcodes, facebook
QR Codes in the Aussie Media November 26, 2007
Posted by Leonard Low in 2D Barcodes.4 comments
The mainstream media is just starting to get hold of Telstra Australia’s plans for the use of QR Codes to provide links to mobile web content from printed and screen-based media.
According to this article from The Age, the primary driver behind this particular trial is Australian marketing company QMCODES, who hold the exclusive Australian license to the I-nigma reader - the most widely used QR Code reader application used In Japan, where QR Codes are already almost universally used already.
While the write-up focusses on the commercial marketing and advertising potential of QR Codes, it also hints at the social applications of QR Codes to “link” with users’ MySpace or Facebook pages. However, unfortunately, it looks like neither QMCODES nor Telstra have yet realised the enormous potential of QR Codes in education - to link students with mobile-web resources and activities that relate to their physical location or current physical context.
Hmm. I think I’ll try to get in touch with both organisations to see if they’d like to work in partnership with educational technologists to develop solutions for education and training…
UPDATE (14 Dec 2007): I’ve been contacted by Telstra, who’ve clarified that they are aware of the educational potential of QR Codes, but they do not have a partnership with QMCODES. It’s gratifying to know that there are a number of organisations in Australia working on innovating with 2D barcode technology!
Tags: i-nigma, inigma, qmcodes, qrcodes, qr code, qr codes, 2d barcode, 2dbarcode, telstra, nextg, next g, education, technology, m-learning, mlearning, mobile learning, mobilelearning, mobile-learning
Using Mobile Phones for 3D Interactivity November 23, 2007
Posted by Leonard Low in 2D Barcodes, Applications, Interactive, Mobile Phone, Products.3 comments
This video demonstrates what can be achieved by the convergence of mobile and virtual technologies. Created as a promotion for Wellington Zoo (New Zealand), it allows printed codes to “come to life” using a mobile phone. As you move your mobile phone camera around the code, a virtual 3D model rotates, pans and zooms as if it were an invisible spectre standing on the surface, viewable only through the camera lens:
Download (FLV)
While this demonstration uses a proprietary format for the printed tags, it’s quite possible for other optical symbologies (such as QR Code tags) to be used for exactly the same purpose, since they incorporate orientation information in the tags themselves (the three large squares in the corners of each code), as well as data-link information.
This use of mobile devices also points to the use of mobile devices as future platforms for virtual worlds and educational simulations using tools such as SecondLife and the (open-source) Croquet (and its educational variant, EduSim). In my opinion, we should see touchscreen-interactive virtual worlds appearing on mainstream mobile devices within the next two years - with the corresponding ability for all of us to merge a mobile, virtual existence with our mobile, real one.
The potential applications of such a technology in education could be enormous!
(via Mobhappy)
Tags: qrcode, qr code, edusim, secondlife, croquet, virtual worlds, vr, virtual reality, mobile, phone, cellphone, m-learning, mlearning, mobile learning, mobilelearning, mobile-learning, interactive
QR Code Readers For Almost 1000 Phones November 2, 2007
Posted by Leonard Low in 2D Barcodes, Applications, Products.2 comments
I’ve just done the briefest of brief surveys of the web, and documented the mobile phone models supported by the major QR Code reader developers. Together, these free-to-download readers provide QR Code support for almost 1000 different phone models across all of the major phone manufacturers (and many smaller ones).
Download: Free QR Code Readers (2 Nov 2007) 
QR Code hits Mainstream Australia November 2, 2007
Posted by Leonard Low in 2D Barcodes, Mobile Phone.add a comment
This week, Australia’s largest mobile phone carrier, Telstra, announced that they would be trialling the use of QR Code reader software on mobile phones using their ultra-high-speed Next-G network.
Ultimately, the technology will be used in conjunction with the Telstra website allowing users to share contact details, blogs and messages as part of a social networking system.
“Consumers will have fast one click access to mobile websites, rich streaming media from Bigpond and Foxtel, location based services and localised information from Sensis, all on Australia’s fastest and largest Next G network,” said Telstra group marketing director, consumer marketing and channels, David Moffatt.
(I’m definitely going to try to get in touch with David - the man’s obviously one of the bright sparks at Telstra… indeed, in the Australian telecommunications industry). David continued:
“Consumers could even wear their own barcodes on a t-shirt as a fashion statement which could then be scanned and linked to their personal BigBlog, Facebook or MySpace pages.”
What… like this you mean?
Check out the video of Telstra’s “mobile codes” in action: http://wotnext.com.au/link/direct.asp?id=24127
All in Australian accents.
Which is why it’s puzzling as to why Stephen Downes seems so dismissive of QR Codes! He makes a wild comparison of QR Codes with the proprietary hardware/proprietary encoding CueCat barcode scanner - which wasn’t even a mobile device, but one that was used connected to a PC! Compare this with QR Codes, which are a free (as in beer - and, as in speech) and open platform, work using ordinary camera phones (not CueCat’s laser scanner system), on mobile hardware (not connected to a PC), and I fail to see the connection.
Stephen: may I suggest you buy a mobile phone and try out the technology before you critique it? It seems to be the responsible thing to do if you’re going to post that kind of dismissive commentary on your widely-read blog; and if you’re so easily slating the technology for failure, you might want to research more widely: tens of millions of Japanese already use QR Codes “often” or “sometimes” and the technology is already used for informal learning and informational recall across their society. It would be enormously valuable to the international education community if you became a participant in the research and development of mobile learning, rather than a not-always-accurate onlooker.
(via All About Mobile Life)
Tags: qrcode, qr code, mobilecode, mobile code, telstra, 2dbarcode, 2d barcode, education, mobilelearning, mobile learning, m-learning, mlearning, mobile-learning, teaching, mobile, learning, proximal, situated, nextg, next-g, davidmoffatt
CogDog Gets Coded! November 1, 2007
Posted by Leonard Low in 2D Barcodes.3 comments
Hooray! Alan Levine (aka CogDog) has a QR Code (perhaps the online equivalent of getting microchipped? :))! He’s had a look at Semapedia and now also sports a QR Code on his blog sidebar, which provides a handy link to a mobilised version of his blog feed.
It’s terrific to see other educators adopting and implementing QR Codes to make their own content more mobile and accessible!
Tags: cogdog, alanlevine, qrcode, qr-code, qr code, 2dbarcode, 2d barcode, kaywa, feed2mobile, semapedia
QR-Coded E-Learning Conference Guide! October 31, 2007
Posted by Leonard Low in 2D Barcodes, Events.2 comments
Simply brilliant. Brent Schlenker at the Corporate eLearning Strategies and Development blog has created his pocket version of the E-Learning Guild DevLearn conference guide, incorporating QR Code links. This innovation enables participants to check conference information on their mobile devices, schedule their personalised programs electronically, and annotate each session with brief notes.
The feedback on this simple system has been tremendous so far… Roger Fischer describes this as a “conference Killer App,” and I’m inclined to agree. If this concept was developed further - for example, to enable the attachment of media and longer notes to various conference sessions, and then, to be shared - I think it could become a conference m-learning system people would pay good money for. Which is good timing, since Nokia is willing to pay for great mobile technology business ideas at the moment, with their Mobile Rules competition (get your entry in soon).
Ahem… Handheld Learning 2008? M-Learn 2008? Are you listening???!!!
Tags: mlearn2008, m-learn2008, mlearn, m-learn, hhl08, hhl2008, mlearn08, qrcode, qr-code, qr code, 2008, mlearn 2008, handheldlearning, handheld learning, education, teaching, learning, conference, mobile, mobile learning, m-learning, mlearning, mobilelearning, education, mobile-learning, 2dbarcode, 2d barcode, mobilerules, mobile rules, nokia, event, management
QR Codes at mLearn 2007 October 24, 2007
Posted by Leonard Low in 2D Barcodes, Applications, Events, Mobile Phone.5 comments
I attended mLearn last week to present a long paper on some of the outcomes of the Australian Standards for Mobile Learning, but I also had a range of other m-learning issues I was keen on sharing and discussing.
One of these topics was the use of 2D barcodes (or ‘mobile codes‘ as they are sometimes referred to) - specifically, Quick Response or QR Codes. Since I initially proposed the use of QR Codes as a way to link physical objects or locations with electronic and online learning materials, several excellent educators and educational developers have picked up on the potential of this technology - which is free to use and develop, and well-supported by free software, to both create QR Codes and decode them using ordinary camera phones.
I had the opportunity to mention QR Codes in my mLearn presentation, and provided a bit more information during question time; but I also did many demonstrations at other times during the conference, using QR Codes I screen printed onto all of my shirts for the conference, or QR Code stamps I had made to print codes directly onto my business cards. The QR Codes I used provided a link to a mobile-enabled Winksite page with all of my contact details for the conference.
Screen printing QR Codes successfully onto both light and dark t-shirts required both positive and negative versions of the screen print image (to print in either white or black ink). Printing both white and black ink onto the red shirt was a matter of combining both the positive and negative screen prints - the image itself provided its own very accurate registration marks, thanks to the three corner “squares” on each QR code, which made overprinting easy and very precise indeed. [Disclaimer: while I'm familiar with creating complex screen prints, this probably isn't everyone's cup of tea. However, I can create custom QR Code t-shirts for other educators for about A$20 (or even less for multiple items); the other alternative is to send your design to CafePress who will professionally print any design you like onto a t-shirt (or other item) for you].
I also ordered two stamps from Canberra Rubber Stamps and Signs, and they obligingly made self-inking and standard versions of my QR Code on a 28mm blank, within 3 working hours of me placing my order. I was very impressed (and grateful!). The standard stamp cost under A$20; the self-inking version was a little more expensive, but under A$45.
Using these stamps I was able to print QR Codes on all my business cards and
do over 20 live demonstrations of the creating and decoding QR Codes to other conference attendees. I had a green stamp pad to show how different colours could be used to create QR Codes (a bit more interesting than black-and-white), and I also brought self-laminating plastic pouches to demonstrate how to waterproof the cards.
Anyway, all this was a lot of fun, and apart from allowing me to share one of my particular interests in mobile learning, it was another conduit enabling me to meet many other terrific conference attendees. No doubt I’ll do something similar for future conference attendances!
If you’re attending an m-learning conference in the future, consider having a QR Code for your own contact information added to your business card; getting a QR Code stamp made; adding a QR Code for your contact details or website to your presentation; or even having it printed on a t-shirt so other attendees can “snap” your details in seconds!
Tags: mlearn2007, mlearn07, mlearn, 2007, mlearning, m-learning, mobile learning, mobile-learning, mobilelearning, qrcode, qr code, quick response code, 2d barcode, education, handheld, learning
