I is for...Innovation

QR_Code_Comic_Tutorial, a photo by The Daring Librarian on Flickr.

...Bet you thought I was going to say iPad.

If you have been following for a while then you already know I am a big fan of innovation and imagination. I have used digital storytelling in my library programs and I am still trying to think of ways to excuse bringing the iPad to work. --Well, this one gives me an excuse for bringing the droid.

The first time I heard about QR codes, I think it was through Woman's Day or Entertainment Weekly. All I can really remember was that it was a magazine left on the staff table. I downloaded the app and tried to scan the codes in the magazine. Needless to say it didn't really work , but I think it might have been the start of the issues with the Blackberry.

The Daring Librarian had a great post last week about using QR codes in her library as a scavenger hunt and though I am eager to try it, I am not so eager to hand my phone over to the teens. (Let us just say that I know a former Teen Camp Counselor who did something similar and he still gets text messages to this day from former camp members who "added" him while they had access to his phone. Yeah, so not happening.) I do applaud the idea and if I thought that my library's socio-economic area meant that every teen had a smart phone let alone a cell phone, I might even try it. --Yes, it is a misnomer that every teen has a cell phone, though I admit it does seem that way.

BTW know what I am going to do tonight? Yup, I am going to download a QR code scanner app to my phone. Who knows maybe I will change my mind about doing a program. While hands on programs are the best, there are sometimes ways around it. Very much a thinking out of the box ideology.

I welcome innovative thinking and new ideas and suggestions. I especially love hearing from other librarians. If you have a suggestion for a program, new tech activity, etc; I would love to hear about it.