Edutainment Out-of-Classroom, Maximises Desired Learning Outcomes

APU QR IT SEEK expanded to over 400 students from various countries, with more prizes, and shows promise for a more effective teaching and learning approach for digital natives

The School of Computing and Technology (SoC & SoT) is back with a bang this year, with over 400 students from 205 teams competing in APU QR IT SEEK — an edutainment and out-of-classroom learning competition concept that uses a variety of mobile devices.

Because it is a fun edutainment outside of the classroom, this competition draws the most students/participants from both schools at Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU).

Each team of two was required to seek and decode a series of 20 Quick Response (QR) codes hidden in random locations around APU campus using a mobile device such as a phone, iPad, or tablet.

When a code is scanned by a mobile device, it generates a quiz question related to a study topic. Some of the questions tested prior knowledge, while others necessitated additional research to obtain an answer.

Students/participants in this problem-solving competition must solve a puzzle consisting of 20 clues and 20 questions hidden in the cafeteria, carpark, stairwells, classroom, labs, or library in search of the QR code including fake QR codes placed around with motivational words.

Strategy, luck & good instincts

After finishing third in the Treasure Hunt Fusion Fest 2022 hosted by the School of Marketing & Management (SoMM), Computer Science and Data Analytics students from team J & K: Kerk Joo Yee and Soo Kar Yeng won first place in this year’s APU QR IT SEEK.

To win this competition, Soo Kar Yeng was in charge of solving the clues of the location given, and Kerk Joo Yee was in charge of finding the QR codes; in the end, they solved the questions together within the time limit and submitted 30 minutes earlier.

“We feel accomplished and appreciated for taking first place, and we get to learn about teamwork and interpersonal skills, which will be very useful in our learning journey because most of the questions are related to our course of study.

“Along our three-year study journey at APU, we will compete in other competitions to enrich our university life and land our dream job after graduation,” said team J & K.

Team Steven Lee: Steven Yenardi and Divaldo Lee, who both studied Data Analytics, said they simply went around campus looking for QR codes and attempting to solve the questions.

Around 5 to 10 minutes before the game ended, they decided to guess the answers to some of the questions and submit them as soon as possible because submission time is also a factor in winning the contest.

“It could be considered luck, and we enjoyed it because it was our first time competing at APU, and we were only there to have fun.

“Some of the questions we encountered during the competition were taught by our previous lecturers. So, this competition also assisted us in recalling some of the previously taught materials, which helps a little with our studies,” said Steven, speaking on behalf of his team.

Meanwhile, Emilio Garvin and Marchanda Marchela Moningkey of team Shallio stated that they have no strategy for winning the competition and just simply follow their instincts to find the location and answer the questions.

“APU QR IT SEEK meets our expectations. This competition may assist us in learning more about some of the topics in the questions that we are unsure of, and we will gladly participate in any future event or competition,” said both of them.

Ts. Dr. Vinothini Kasinathan confirmed that APU QR IT SEEK has become the largest event for the year 2022, with the most students participating.

“In many ways, QR IT Seek was the beginning of their journey toward growth. Each student was given a badge, which some of them still wear around campus.

“We believe that learning should be enjoyable. Please study hard and work hard, as the old adage goes. Why can’t we study happily and work happily? There is substantial medical and scientific evidence that shows that your body and brain work best when you are in a pleasant state of mind,” she said.

The organizing team of APU QR IT SEEK 2022 include Ms Mary Ting, Mr Justin Gilbert Alexius Silvester, Ms Lai Chew Ping, Ms T.Tulasi Sathyabama Appalasamy, Ms Nur Amira Abdul Majid, Dr. Dewi Octaviani, Mr Viknesh Ramamoorthy, Ms Minnu Helen Joseph and Ms Khalida Harun.

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