Incorporating QRL Scan Codes in a Geology-Awareness Campus Engagement Project

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper discusses how quick resource link (QRL) scan codes were used as part of a geomorphology class project to raise geologic awareness on the college campus. Insight into geologic processes was achieved through the development of Web pages attached to QRLs that host written student descriptions of hallway landscape photography and voice recordings of the students reading their papers. The results of this paper are twofold. First, the comparison of pre- and postsurveys of students in the geomorphology class (n = 7) demonstrate that applying the use of technology to geology assignments can increase student enthusiasm for scientific writing. Second, through similar assessment methods, surveys of hallway passersby (n = 400) suggest that the QRL scan codes helped them to interpret the landscape photographs and increased their knowledge of geologic phenomena. Moreover, hidden counters on the Web pages indicate that the students' geological interpretation of the hallway photographs have reached approximately 25,000 passersby. The incorporation of QRL scan codes as educational tools have many applications beyond this assignment and can be a useful tool for geology educators.