Da Capo Web Development is excited to announce its latest feature: LostInstrument.com!
QR Codes have the ability to hold a significant amount of data in those tiny little boxes. If your district prints out Instrument Inventory Label tags with QR codes, and a regular person scans that QR code with their phone, they will be brought to LostInstrument.com and will have the ability to see that the instrument belongs to the “X School District”. They will be able to then click a button and have an email sent to the District Administrator of that particular district. The email sent to the District Administrator (Chairperson / Director) will contain quite a bit of pertinent information including the instrument’s serial number, case number, and other information. The finder of the instrument will be able to send you a custom message with their phone number and email address as well.
Optional Survey regarding this new feature
Anticipated Questions and Answers: #
Q: How is privacy protected?
A: No student information is accessible through LostInstrument.com. When a ‘regular person’ scans the QR code, the only piece of information that they are shown is the name of the school district which owns the instrument. When the user sends an email, the email is only sent to school district personnel who have an account on DaCapoInventory.com. The person who finds the instrument does not get a copy of the email. The person also does not see the email addresses to which the email was sent.
Q: I already have inventory tags on my instruments. Do I have to remove those barcodes and insert new QR codes into each inventory tag?
A: There are two options for this.
Option 1: Yes, you can print all new QR Code Inventory Labels for each of your instruments. This new tag (printed after January 9, 2024) will have an updated QR Code that links to LostInstrument.com. I have found it best to attach these barcode labels to the handle of instrument cases with Silicone Strap Luggage Tags similar to these so the QR code is protected underneath a plastic cover.
Option 2: You can request that Da Capo send you 1” stickers that you can affix to your present tags. (Note: I have not yet decided which design I’m going with! I like the pop of color on the green one, but I also like the logo.) The finder of the instrument would hopefully go to LostInstrument.com and type information found on the existing Da Capo Inventory barcode tag.
Q: If I choose the stickers above (Option 2), how will the ‘finder’ scan a QR code?
A: If there is no QR code available to scan, the person who found the instrument can enter any two pieces of information found on the existing Da Capo Inventory instrument tag. They have to enter two of the following three pieces of information: Da Capo ID#, Instrument Case Number, and/or Instrument Serial Number. If the two pieces of information don’t line up, the person who found the instrument will not be able to continue. This is to ensure security and privacy in the system.
Q: Can I try this out today?
A: YES! You can view an instrument label (old fashioned 1D barcode or the new QR code) by logging into dacapoinventory.com and going to the Teacher “Inventory” page. Choose 1D or QR with the Settings Cog on the right side of that screen. Then, click the blue ‘Barcode Print’ button beside the search bar on the right side of your screen. You can then scan a QR code right from your screen with your cell phone to view the user experience of the ‘finder’.
Or, you can visit LostInstrument.com directly and manually type in any two pieces of information that exist on a Da Capo Inventory barcode label (Da Capo ID#, Instrument Case Number, and/or Instrument Serial Number).
You can then test the ‘Email’ feature and see what information you will get when somebody finds your school’s instrument.
Or – Scan these now with your cell phone!
Q: What will the ‘finder’ see when they enter the information above or scan a QR code?
A: The finder will only see the school district name.
Q: What will the email I receive look like?
A: The email will be sent to the three people in your school district with the highest levels of access. This normally means that the Director of Music, a Secretary, and one random teacher will receive this email.
