Bar codes are not just for checkout lines anymore. College leaders in Marshfield hope they will help recruit new students.
A technology growing in popularity called a QR code can store information, like a website address. The University of Wisconsin-Marshfield/Wood County is putting them on new promotional materials.
Point a smart phone at the code and it directs the phone to a website. It's the push of one button, instead of dozens normally required to type in the lengthy URL.
College leaders are promoting a preview day for prospective students in a few weeks. They have put up these posters at area high schools with a bar code at the bottom.
Tech savvy kids can use smart phones with cameras to scan the code, which send their phone's browser right to the school's registration page.
"It's a novel approach, it allows them to use their phones, and kids these days are attached to their cell phones," said Melissa Lake, a University spokesperson who will teach a course about the codes next month. "They might as well use them to choose a college."
The school is hoping to set a model for other local businesses. In March they will host a question and answer session showing stores how to incorporate them into displays and business cards.
