by Robert J. Hurt, BSW, Michelle Janis-Thompson, LMSW, Robert Shankle, and James R.G. Morris, Ph.D.
College students can create new solutions when motivated. One of my first opportunities to be motivated was an advocacy project. The project’s goal was to provide donations to families affected by a natural disaster. One of my (Robert Hurt’s) professors introduced the project in my class. From that project, I incorporated Quick Response (QR) codes in new practice. This article’s intention is to educate social workers on how QR codes can benefit service delivery, and to show how easy it is for students competent in technology to help established social workers in the profession.
My class and I placed boxes across our campus and collected donations during fall 2016. In December 2016, my professor transported those donations to the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A social worker for the YWCA worked with my professor on the project.
The students made the project possible. The project title we chose was #brfloodsfa to exist on social media. We received a PDF file from the YWCA, which assessed what the families needed. I wanted to make that PDF more accessible. After removing identifying information, the document was uploaded to my password-protected Google Drive account and shared with both a QR code and short website link, http://goo.gl/7W6QcA.
QR Codes
Flood Project QR
A QR code is similar to a barcode and was created in 1994 by Masahiro Hara (Denso Wave, 2018). The distinction between a barcode and a QR code is that the QR typically takes the scanner to a website. The purple code shown here, when scanned from a mobile phone, will take you to the PDF from the #brfloodsfa project. My intentions were to maximize the donations collected for the families, so I used my own skills to be a part of that process.
Cloud computing is a service in which files are stored online “in the cloud” (Akter et al, 2018). Google Drive is a popular software used for online storage. Documents can be uploaded in Google Drive and shared with website links. Once the link is created, it can be turned into a QR code. When the codes shown in this article are scanned, they will take you to mobile-friendly documents/information.
When the #brfloodsfa project was completed, the social worker from Baton Rouge sent my professor information about the donations provided. Our work created a financial impact of $9,793.29 for the YWCA. I had an amazing time working for those families, and I was happy to bring my own strengths toward advocacy. I was beginning to understand how smartphone technology can be used in exciting ways.
Impact Lufkin
We presented information about the #brfloodsfa project at an undergraduate research conference in 2017 (Hurt & Morris, 2017). The poster garnered attention of a program director who was spearheading a community revitalization initiative for a rural population. She incorporated my work to be a part of her research to raise awareness of the project. The focus was to conduct an appreciative inquiry in Wards 1 and 2 of Lufkin, Texas. The report focuses on participatory action and community-driven principles. It is important to include the voice of communities we are seeking to help.
Lufkin QR
The project is called Impact Lufkin, and my purpose was to gather documents to share via another QR code. The green QR code takes you to a folder containing the appreciative inquiry report and other documents. The link is https://bit.ly/impactlufkin.
The code was printed onto a business card. During the project’s celebration, the card was handed to community members. The purpose of the card was to help the report stay alive digitally in the hands of individuals.
Harvey Relief Document
Harvey QR
Houston, Texas, faced a natural disaster in 2017 from Hurricane Harvey, which affected the city and surrounding areas in a major way. My professor facilitated an effort to provide something for those affected. We created a resource document that provided rehabilitation information for evacuees. Students in a macro class during fall 2017 created documents about topics relating to post-disaster recovery. When every document was uploaded into a folder, one PDF document was created to merge each topic. The link to view that PDF is http://bit.ly/sfaharvey, and the blue QR code used is shown here. The class shared the QR code and link on social media with #harveysfa. The motive behind this class effort was that we wanted to do something for Houston, versus doing nothing (J. Morris, personal communication, September 7, 2017).
Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas
Alabama QR
I am, at this writing, an intern for the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, a federally recognized Indian Tribe. This fall (2018) is my last semester as an undergraduate student, and I will graduate with my BSW in December 2018. I work under the Social Services Department and involve myself with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). I also work with the tribal court, and its staff recently hosted a judicial symposium. I was tasked with creating the symposium booklet.
The booklet is comprised of documents in the cloud. I linked the folder containing these documents to a red QR code and link, https://bit.ly/actcbooklet. Presenters’ documents were provided in the booklet via individual QR codes, to save paper and make the booklet less heavy (Hurt, 2018). Cloud computing with QR codes was a new method for the symposium. It was well received by people who attended.
Ethics in Technology
When providing information through technology, it is important to be conscious of the socioeconomic statuses and access to technology in the areas social workers are in. It is ethical to consider that not every client has access to a mobile phone to scan QR codes (NASW, 2018). To assist with this, one must provide access to the website link that the QR code represents, so people can save it for a future time when they may have an internet connection.
Another important part of ethics in social work cloud computing is to obtain informed consent from participants (NASW, 2018). Participants involved in sharing their resources by a QR code/link should be aware of how the code/link is going to be disseminated. If information about these codes is presented in the future, the participants should be informed along the way.
Conclusion
An opportunity to advocate for families in 2016 paved the way for new technology in the helping profession. QR codes can become a tool for any social worker to serve the public in a positive way. Something so small and quick to access can truly make a difference in people’s lives (F. Avant, personal communication, November 6, 2017).
References
Akter, M., Gani, A., Rahman, O., Hassan, M. M., Almogren, A., & Ahmad, S., (2018).
Performance analysis of personal cloud storage services for mobile multimedia health record management, IEEE Access. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2869848
Denso Wave. (2018). QR code development story. Retrieved from https://www.denso-wave.com/en/technology/vol1.html
Hurt, R. J. (2018, September). Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas 5th judicial symposium: Understanding The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Domestic Violence in Indian Country. Booklet presented at the fifth Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas Judicial Symposium, Livingston, TX. Booklet retrieved from http://bit.ly/actcbooklet
Hurt, R. J., & Morris, J. R. G., (2017). #brfloodsfa & #17brsfa. Undergraduate Research Conference 2017, https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/urc/2017/Posters/18/
National Association of Social Workers (NASW). (2018). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
Robert J. Hurt is an MSW student at Stephen F. Austin State University School of Social Work. Michelle Janis-Thompson, LMSW, is Director of Social Services at The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas. Robert Shankle is Councilmember of Ward 2 of Lufkin, Texas. James R. G. Morris, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor, School of Social Work at Stephen F. Austin State University.