Showing posts with label japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label japan. Show all posts

Monday, 23 March 2009

QR codes...

The "experiment" in yesterday's post was more for my benefit than yours - I spent some time researching QR codes and thinking about the possibilities for use in teaching, and more specifically, in teaching Geography...

I have various ideas, at various stages of development, but they will fall flat on their faces if the "target audience" - ie you - doesn't know what QR codes are, and doesn't know what to do with them. And the response from Yr11 today, when one person had seen something similar on a Pepsi can but didn't really know much about it, suggests that some work is needed on my part!

Reluctant though I am to post a Wikipedia link, this explains a bit more about QR codes and what they are... QR codes are appearing everywhere in Japan... including - bizarrely - on tombstones, allowing visitors to view photos and videos of the deceased!!

The idea is that with a mobile phone which has a camera, you can scan a QR code, and be taken to a website, or be given a phone number or piece of text. If you are lucky enough to have an iPhone, you will be able to choose from a variety of QR code readers to download - I've tried Snappr and Neoreader (both free) but particularly impressed with Optiscan (£2.99). If you have a relatively recent Nokia phone, you might well find that you have a QR code reader pre-installed - check in the Office bit of your phone menu... With many other relatively new phones (as long as they have a camera), you can download a reader - type "QR code reader" and the model of your mobile phone into Google (or any other search engine!).

Once you've got your QR code reader sorted, check this one out....

Monday, 19 February 2007

The village that got too old...

Thanks to Tony Cassidy for highlighting this story from the BBC about Ogama - a village in Japan that doesn't feature on any maps because it's too small... there are just eight residents!


Click on the picture to go to the BBC website and listen to the documentary which considers what Japan can do to stop its rural communities from disappearing altogether...


Particularly useful for Yr11, but an interesting listen for everyone else as well!