Brandon Ballentine

Late last year I was accepted into my college’s first Mobile Engagement Fellows program. The program was created to encourage faculty and staff to explore ways of using mobile devices and emerging technology to engage students and foster active student involvement. Participants (10 total) were awarded an iPad Air and given one year to complete a mobile engagement project and report their results back to the group.

My last post describes the first of my projects - an iBeacon-powered campus tour application. In addition, I proposed creating a campus-wide scavenger hunt, also powered by iBeacons, designed to help encourage students to become more familiar with various buildings, offices, and resources on campus. I was unable to order the number of beacons needed to create such a scavenger hunt before the start of the semester, so I decided to move forward with the project using QR codes instead. Version 2, available before the Spring 2015 semester, will use both iBeacons and QR codes

The App

On first launch, users are prompted to create an account or log in to an existing account. The app uses this account to sync progress between devices. The application’s home screen displays a list of all available QR quests. In order to limit access to specific classes or clubs, hunt organizers can choose to password protect a quest.

Once a quest has been selected, participants are shown a list of clues, each of which leads to a different QR code hidden on campus.

When a participant finds a QR code, they tap the clue and use the built-in scanner to verify they are in the correct location and save their progress. If the code is correct, the app navigates back to the list of clues and marks the selected clue as complete. If the the code is incorrect, the scanner highlights the code but remains visible to scan additional codes.

When finished, participants use the action icon to submit their progress to quest organizer.

I will be piloting the app with an accounting class this fall and hope to add additional quests as more instructors express interest in the project. If you have ideas for the app or would like to work together on a similar project, please let me know!