Print2Screen Mobile App: Embedding Multimedia in Printed ODL Course Materials Using QR Codes

Abstract

The world is rapidly moving towards a digital culture where teaching and learning is migrated to cyberspace from a conventional brick and mortar classroom. Given that eLearning and mobile learning are attractive propositions for countries with robust technological infrastructure, the global south is still struggling to mainstream digital methods of delivering education due to various technological and financial inhibitors. This has spelled a potential slow death for printed material in developing countries where the medium is predominantly used for delivering education in schools, conventional universities, vocational training institutions and open universities. However, with the rise of OER and multimedia such as YouTube videos, many of these academic institutions are becoming mindful of the richness they bring into the teaching and learning process. Given that multimedia resources cannot be directly integrated into printed material, the only available alternative is to print hyperlinks which teachers and learners can manually type into a web browser. This method becomes ridiculously ineffective as the length of the URL increases. To address this limitation with a special focus on print based ODL course materials, the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), which is a regional center of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), developed an innovative solution to seamlessly integrate multimedia into printed material using Quick Response Codes (QR codes) or 2D barcodes and an Android mobile application named “Print2Screen”. This paper highlights the rationale behind Print2Screen, the development process, how the solution is implemented in a real world scenario and the benefits it will bring to the ODL community especially in rural and developing parts of the world where stable access to technology is still a costly commodity. // Paper ID 28