You see them everywhere these days: at the back of your favorite box of cereal, on giant posters at bus stops and on adverts in the window of your local estate agent. But what exactly is a QR code, and how can these little black squares be used in education? QR, or Quick Response codes, are two-dimensional barcodes that can be read using smartphones, tablets, laptops and dedicated QR reading devices. They link directly to articles, emails, websites, phone numbers, videos, social media pages and more. All you need is a camera lens on your device and a QR code scanning program which can be downloaded online for free as an app. QR code readers like kaywa.com, mobile-barcodes.com or beetagg.com also give you the possibility to generate your own QR codes for free. And it only takes a few clicks! QR technology provides a wealth of benefits for the techno-friendly teacher. Besides the fact that most students own mobile phones that can read QR codes in seconds, they also often have access to laptops in school. Students will not be fazed by a technology that they have probably used outside school already. On the contrary, they are likely to get excited at the prospect of opening Ali Baba’s cave of information at the click of a button! Listed below are the three main reasons why QR codes are brilliant in education: Inconspicuous as they may seem, QR codes can hold over 4000 characters of information. Instead of printing out a long web article to your students, QR codes could give them direct and instantaneous access to the same resource in class or at home. You save time and you save a tree simultaneously! They are very easy to generate. To create a QR code, you only need to copy and paste the address of a web page into your QR generating software. Once you have produced your code, you can then transfer it to your teaching resource, or simply leave it on the interactive whiteboard for students to scan in class. QR codes can be printed on virtually anything: paper, textile, walls, even on your skin as a tattoo for those teachers who are willing to show total commitment to their subject. Some schools use them in the reception area to provide extra information about school events to students, parents and visitors.