Washington and Lee University
When the Class of 2015 arrived at Washington and Lee University on Saturday, members of the University’s Information Technology Services (ITS) offered them a quick way to find popular websites and add contact information to address books with their smartphones and the new QR code technology.
QR (Quick Response) codes are two-dimensional barcodes designed to be read by smartphones.
The staff members had QR codes printed on the T-shirts that they wore while they staffed the first-year check-in and orientation. Several dozen students took advantage by using their phones to scan the code, which then loaded the web page or prompted them to save the new contact.
On the front of the shirts were codes for ITS services such as Help, Campus Notices websites and the Information Desk. On the back were codes for both campus and local attractions, ranging from the Blue Ridge Parkway to the University’s Nabors Service League. David Saacke, chief technology officer, said the T-shirt design reflected students’ increasing use of the various smartphone technologies.
“Year by year, we have seen a steady increase in the percentage of students who bring smartphones to campus and use them to do an increasing variety of tasks,” said Saacke. “We expect that this year’s entering class will be relying even more than usual on this technology, and the QR code T-shirts seemed an appropriate welcome for tech-savvy kids.“