A Poster presentation from the TESOL 2015 International Conference in Toronto, Canada

1. GET MORE OUT OF YOUR HANDOUTS
WITH QR CODES
Cameron Romney
Kyoto Sangyo University
CameronRomney.com
@CameronRomney

2. DILEMMA
TYPICAL SOLUTIONS
Smaller Print
Condensed Font
Narrower Margins
Larger Paper
More Paper
Hard to read
Difficult to print
No space for notes
More Paper
LESS USER Friendly?
HOW TO MAXIMIZE THE INFORMATION PRESENTED
IN THE LIMITED SPACE OF A HANDOUT

3. WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH QR CODES
OTHER CODES
Link to
Teacher’s email
vCard of Teacher’s
contact information
URL CODES
Link to Videos
Link to MP3s
Link to Surveys
TEXT CODES
Task Answers,
e.g. Homework
Information Gap

4. WHAT DO YOU NEED?
STUDENTS
Device with QR Code reader app
Smartphone, iPad, tablet, iPod Touch,
Nintendo 3DS, etc.
Feature phone
(limited to text codes)
TEACHERS
Smartphone, etc.
Internet connected computer
(to make codes)
Recommend Site:
goqr.me
WHAT IF A STUDENT DOESN’T HAVE A SMARTPHONE?
Design activities so they don’t need one
Have an analog (paper) back-up
Have an extra device
Borrow a friend’s device
Have the students work in pairs/share

5. EXAMPLES

9. FAQs
HOW MUCH DO QR CODES COST?
They are open source, free to make and free to use, but users might need
to download a reader app. Most are free, but some are paid apps.
WHICH APP SHOULD I TELL MY STUDENTS TO USE?
Some smartphones have a reader app built in and some don't. I let my
students choose one that they like. I do recommend that they download
several free ones and see which one works best for them.
Recommended paid app: Scan by QR Code City ($1.99) http://scan.me

10. WHAT TYPES OF DATA CAN QR CODES CONTAIN?
QR codes support 9 data types: plain text, URL links, e-mail address,
SMS, phone numbers, geo locations, calendar events, and vCards, i.e.
contact information.
HOW MANY CHARACTERS CAN A QR CODE CONTAIN?
They can contain 4,296 alphanumeric characters, but a more practical
limit is between 300-500 characters, basically 2-4 tweets.
HOW BIG SHOULD THE CODE BE ON THE HANDOUT?
They can be any size, but the more data they contain the more complex
the dot pattern will be. So the more data, the bigger they need to be.
Something between ¾ to 1½ inches (2-4 cm) is usually fine.

11. CAN A QR CODE CONTAIN AN IMAGE OR SOUND FILE?
Technically yes, but practically no. However, you can link to a website
that has the image or sound file that students can view/hear on their
phone.
DO THEY HAVE TO BE BLACK AND WHITE?
No. They can be a combination of any two colors, but there needs to be
sufficient contrast between the colors therefore black and white is usually
best.