Adult education and training company Media Works has partnered with Excom Publishers, to use quick response (QR) code technology to develop 'talking textbooks' for high school learners.
Excom Publishers has been publishing independent examinations board and curriculum and assessment policy statement-aligned textbooks since 2008. Media Works has 21 years of experience in developing interactive, digital learning content for its e-learning and blended learning products.
Through the partnership, Media Works assists Excom to redesign a selection of high school-level textbooks, and insert QR code technology - called Bubbles (a QR code reading capability) ? into the books. This technology inserts short, interactive modules into the textbooks, allowing learners to get a deeper understanding of the material, through interactive audio and visual snippets that complement the curriculum.
Through scanning the codes via a smartphone using a free QR reader or clicking on the active links in the e-book versions, learners can unlock the 60- to 90-second interactive video lessons as well as additional concept examples, notes Media Works.
"This marks the first time in SA that textbooks have been brought to life in this way. The QR tech will bring world-class education to students, regardless of where in the country they're based, and what schooling experience they find themselves in," says Dennis Lamberti, development director of Media Works.
The "talking textbooks" published by Excom have recently been launched throughout SA, and a number of schools have started buying them. The technology features in textbooks relating to grade seven to 12 subjects, which include business studies, economic and management sciences, life orientation and accounting, with plans to roll it out to other subjects in 2018, adds Lamberti.
Up to 45 bubbles are located through the textbooks and are intended to be especially useful when revising or catching up on concepts, creating a deeper, multifaceted learning experience, according to Media Works.
Yvette Russell, a founding member of Excom Publishers, says the companies are looking forward to using multimedia to enhance the learning experience of high school learners in the country.
"This is a breakthrough technology for learning and it ultimately applies to different levels and categories of learners, including those who are doing home schooling. The 'bubbles' will give learners a way to engage with, and recap, their studies effectively, allowing for better understanding," says Russell.
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