mobile barcodes/QRcodes in eLearning

by Inge de Waard, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerpen, Belgium

Extra for session participants

In Europe we need to get our ideas flowing on how to integrate this (new) technology in our
mobile learning environments. Are you using mobile barcodes for learning? Do you see
implementations for your own learning environment?
If you have experience with mobile barcodes feel free to give (or send) me your examples. I
will gladly put them into the visually enhanced PowerPoint I will show as the backbone of this
presentation.

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Introduction
Mobile technology can make significant contributions in education. As learning has become
more individualized and learner-centered, the new digital technologies in education should
become increasingly personalized. Major advances in mobile-networked technology have
enabled people to retrieve information and communicate regardless of their location [1].

Mobile barcodes (or semacodes or QRcodes or 2D codes) are a frequently used mobile
feature in Japan, Taiwan and some other parts of Asia, but now Europe and North-America
are slowly joining to explore this future mobile tool as well.

Although Europe and other technological savvy continents are getting an increased cell
phone per capita, mobile specific tools still need to become better known throughout the
mobile eLearning world. Mobile barcodes are a new tool that can be used to quickly gain
access to mobile content. The mobile bar-coding technique was first launched as a marketing
gadget, but quickly became a multipurpose technique used for on the go and other mobile
eLearning.

Since the beginning of 2008 the eLearning team of ITM (Institute of Tropical Medicine in
Antwerp, Belgium) has been exploring with mobile barcodes.

What are mobile barcodes?

A simple way of giving an object an identity and allowing a user to interact with it is through a
visual or 2D ‘bar code’. These are printed ‘pictures’ containing data, which when
photographed by a camera phone will provide information about the object [2]

Any type of content can be delivered in a mobile barcode; however there is a limitation on the
initial data that can be put into a mobile barcode. Some possibilities: text, URL, sms, RSS
feeds or a phone number that directs the student to a classroom conference call. This allows
the learner to get access to the right platform, while saving on surfing cost and paper. The
best known surplus of using mobile barcodes is that the user no longer needs to put in
lengthy URL’s to get to specific information. In a way a mobile barcode is a mobile bridge to
content delivery platforms.

(here the image of mobile barcode ‘IgnatieWebs_pic1.tif’ )’

Mobile barcodes in eLearning

The marketing sector was the first sector to really go in-depth with using mobile barcodes to
promote products or get consumers actively attending contests or other marketing tools. But
as soon as mobile barcodes got the attention of educational departments, new mobile
learning initiatives started to develop.
The increasingly powerful network and handsets are making mobile learning potential reality
[3]. By now a limited though interesting amount of learning initiatives have been developed
and launched.

What are mobile barcodes used for in eLearning:

• provide flyers with QRcodes to different web-based assessments;
• direct mobile users to mobile manuals;
• use the mobile barcodes to get background information during field trips
(architecture, history, engineering…).
• direct learners to the latest updates on specific information;
• get students involved in future mobile applications;
• check student attendance in face-to-face courses;
• direct students to a specific mobile module or course.

Technological needs and limitations

In order to use a mobile barcode you have to have a camera equipped cell phone. Most of
the smart phones (especially the 3G - third generation - models) have a mobile barcode
feature installed, but if not, there are a couple of barcode software providers that offer free
software to code/decode information. The free availability and the easy to use technology
make mobile bar-coding into an easy to use mobile eLearning tool.

Although the new generation mobile phones often include mobile barcode possibilities, this
does not prevent some technical difficulties. Mobile barcodes need to be decoded by the
software on the mobile phone in order to direct the student to the necessary content.
However the mobile barcodes must be delivered in a format that makes it possible for mobile
phones to capture the mobile barcode picture. A good resolution and easy access to the
picture itself is crucial.

Some examples of mobile barcode codec’s: Quickmark (http://www.quickmark.com),

Winksite (http://winksite.com) or Kaywa (http://feed2mobile.kaywa.com/).

Some examples
1 - Web-based mobile content
At ITM we have started using the mobile barcodes as a means to access mobile content that
is on the web with only one camera click. This allowed us to give the learners a more efficient
way to surf to a relevant website with their mobile phone.

For those who are interested and have a barcode reader on their phone, I have put a mobile
barcode (QRcode) below that will immediately direct you to a mobile example course (second
picture) that was developed at ITM (FYI: this course is an example course build in html, so if
you want to access this course through the mobile barcode, it will not take up a lot of your
mobile data amount to connect to it.)

(Here the image of mobile barcode ‘QRcode_escart_IdW_pic2.tif’ )’

↓
(here the image of mobile lesson ‘lesson_html_IdW_pic3.tif’ )

2 – just-in-time learning
In a lot of our organizations or companies just-in-time learning becomes a standard within its
learning environment. Some procedures only need to be taken up by a
user/learner/professional from time to time. This sporadic knowledge is bound to become less
accurate if someone only needs to do a procedure ones a month or a couple of times a year.
To enable those users to have an immediate update on how to do a certain procedure,
mobile barcodes can be used. At ITM we have a pilot running to see if mobile barcodes that
are linked to machines can help the user in using that specific machine more efficiently.

Conclusion
Although the use of mobile barcodes for learning is still limited in Europe and North America,
it is on the rise. Especially the ease of use and the quick way to connect to mobile content on
the web is a big advantage.
At ITM we found it had a big potential for just-in-time learning, e.g. manuals of machine that
are only used infrequently by the learner.
With the rise of mobile phones throughout the world, the use of mobile barcodes will probably
increase as well. The fact that experimenting with mobile barcodes does not demand a lot of
financial resources makes it a worthwhile trial for mobile learning adepts.

References
[1] Sharples, M. (2000). The design of personal mobile technologies for lifelong learning,
Computers and Education, Vol. 34, No. 1, 81-102.
[2] Ley, D. 2007. Ubiquitous Computing. Emerging Technologies for Learning volume 2.
Becta. United Kingdom.
[3] Uden, L. (2007). Activity theory for designing mobile learning, International Journal of
Mobile Learning and Organisation, Vol. 1, 81 – 102.