SCERT to add QR codes to textbooks from next year
CODES WILL ALLOW STUDENTS AND TEACHERS TO GET ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS
GURUGRAM: In a move that is aimed at giving a fillip to e-learning, the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Haryana, has added QR codes in Hindi, English, Mathematics, and environmental sciences (EWS) primary school books for students in the state.
The books will be made available to students in the next academic year starting from April 2019. The QR codes will allow students and teachers to get additional information on the abovementioned subjects. Quick Response (QR) Code is a machine-readable code consisting of an array of black and white squares, which can be used for storing web-links for reading on a smartphone.
Jyoti Chaudhary, director, SCERT Haryana, said that the initiative would enhance the learning process for both teachers and students. “The need of the hour is to improve the state of education in Haryana, and digital competency is crucial for that.
These QR codes will allow teachers to access additional information and improve the quality of the teaching material. Moreover, the feature will add excitement to the learning process,” said Chaudhary.
The QR codes that will be placed on all chapters of the books will direct to additional information that will be stored in an online bank. An app will be designed in due course of time with which teachers and students will be able to scan the codes. Once scanned, one can download informative videos pertaining to the topics.
Manoj Kaushik, coordinator, program education technology, SCERT Haryana, said that information will be mostly in the form of interactive animations and graphics.
“Books contain limited information due to which there is no scope for extended study. However, through the QR codes, students will be exposed to new information relevant to their chapters which will be present in an organised manner in our online bank. The online information will include graphics, explainers, and will fulfil the limitations of a textbook,” said Kaushik. He said that the QR codes for all books were ready and that SCERT was focusing on creating content that would be linked to the QR codes.