Scan and Learn: Quick Response Code Enabled Museum for Mobile Learning of Anatomy and Pathology

Abstract

In the past, medical museums played a significant role in anatomy and pathology training. The attraction of medical museums has declined recently due to the emergence of information technology and innovative medical curricula. An innovative mobile learning platform has been developed using quick response (QR) codes for the museum specimens at the Lee Kong Chain School of Medicine, Singapore. High-quality images of the potted specimens were captured and combined into an album and a video using Adobe Acrobat Pro 9 and Windows Movie Maker, respectively. Subsequently, QR codes were generated linking to PDF documents with annotations, pathology, and clinical history concerning the specimens. Quick response codes were piloted in gastrointestinal teaching module for Year 2 medical students. Survey responses were obtained from students to verify the efficacy of QR as a learning tool. The majority of students either agreed or strongly agreed that it was easy to access the information about the specimen with QR codes (4.47 ± 0.84), while 96% of students agreed that they are able to correlate the specimen with the annotated images (4.56 ± 0.56). The majority of students (78%) agreed that QR codes are useful for their learning (4.22 ± 0.87), while 75% of students felt QR codes motivate them to visit Anatomy Resource Centre. Most of the students agreed that QR codes are useful for revision of materials (4.13 ± 1.07) and independent learning (4.38 ± 0.87). These findings suggest that QR codes are not only effective for students learning but also enhance their exploration experience with the museum specimens. Anat Sci Educ 12: 664-672.

Uses of Quick Response Codes in Healthcare Education: A Scoping Review

“…The key benefits of using QR codes for healthcare education lie in the ability to provide timely, multimodal information in a cost-effective manner. Several studies demonstrated an improvement in engagement from students or faculty [19,20,22,23,26,[39][40][41][42], which may be due to ease of use, availability and immediacy compared to other available methods of accessing information. Additional benefits lie in adaptability, simplicity of creation and potential environmental benefits of QR codes.…”

“…Nine articles discussed ways in which QR codes could be utilised to enhance participant engagement [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. These can be broadly divided into those focusing on anatomy teaching, formative assessment, case-based learning and engagement with publications.…”

“…Three articles discussed the application of QR codes for anatomy teaching [19,26,27]. Mogali et al reported how a medical student's experience of an anatomy specimen museum could be enhanced by the use of QR codes [26] attached to specimens. This allowed further contextual information to be gained, such as annotated images and clinical histories.…”

“…For anatomy teaching, limitations were related to the sensitive information or images that may be contained within QR codes. Two studies therefore had to remind students that learning resources were for personal use only [19,26]. Mogali et al password protected PDF documents that were linked to QR codes to prevent amendments and printing [26].…”

“…Two studies therefore had to remind students that learning resources were for personal use only [19,26]. Mogali et al password protected PDF documents that were linked to QR codes to prevent amendments and printing [26]. Additionally, Traser et al indicated that students were reluctant to bring their phones into a gross anatomy laboratory [19].…”