Duke is making efforts to stay technologically savvy, one pixel at a time.
Students may have noticed quick response barcodes on ePrint stations as well as event and student group posters around campus. QR codes—black and white pixelated symbols common on advertisements and billboards—can be scanned by mobile devices to give the user instant, handheld information. QR codes available at ePrint stations give students up-to-date messages about the ePrint system, including which printers are working and the closest working printer to a student’s location.
“We thought we would try them because we envisioned users coming up to the ePrint station, not with their computer running, but with a smartphone,” Stephen O’Donnell, senior communications strategist at the Office of Information Technology, wrote in an email. “We hoped that the QR code would lead those smartphone users to the ePrint status and locations page.”
QR codes have become recently popular outside the University as well, gracing the pages of print advertisements within magazines and other periodicals, on buses and in airports. The codes were originally developed in Japan to track parts in vehicle manufacturing but are now used in marketing, targeting mobile phone users. Codes can be generated online at a variety of free websites.
In order to link to QR codes, students must install and launch a QR application on their smartphones and point their phone’s camera at the barcode, which will instantly direct users to websites, photos, videos or text.
OIT does not yet have enough data to know if—and to what extent—students are utilizing the QR codes, O’Donnell said, though he noted that many students have smartphones and consequently could take advantage of the technology.
Lynne O’Brien, director of academic technology and instructional services for Perkins Library, wrote in an email Monday that she thinks QR codes will become increasingly common.
In a Nov. 23 blog post on the University’s Center for Instructional Technology website, O’Brien listed the potential uses of QR codes in academic settings. Codes could launch virtual tours of laboratories or link to videos showing how to operate equipment. O’Brien also noted that there are potential uses in social situations.
“At the start of your course or when hosting an event where people don’t know one another, name tags with a QR code could provide an introduction and a quick way to download contact information,” she said.
Students groups are also using QR codes to advertise and promote events on campus.
ChangeWorks, a student-led social innovation competition, recently placed QR codes on its flyers, which were distributed around campus.
Although the ChangeWork’s website does not have data on the number of students using QR codes, sophomore Samir Rao, a member of the ChangeWorks team, wrote in an email Tuesday that the group did notice a spike in total page visitors.
“I still think that QR codes are a great idea,” Rao said. “Next year, we plan on making them more integrated in our site.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.