Medical Students’ Perception on the Use of QR Code Versus Traditional Pen-and-Paper as an Attendance Record Tool in Medical School

Abstract

Background: Student attendance at teaching-learning sessions is traditionally registered using pen-and-paper. This method has many weaknesses: lost, hard to verify, attendance-by-proxy, late submission. The Quick-Response Code is a two-dimensional barcode that can be read with a QR reader on a smartphone that captures and instantly transmits information to a cloud storage. We describe the use of a QRC method to register medical students' attendance and assessed their perception of this method compared to PAP. Method:The attendance of 112 medical students in all teaching and learning sessions in internal medicine posting was registered either with QRC or PAP. A static QR code was generated using open source software online and linked to Google Document for storage of data registered. At the end of the posting, the students' perception was assessed using a 4-point Likert scale satisfaction survey.Results: 83 students participated in the survey (74% response rate). 100% owned a smart device and 91.6% had data connectivity. Compared to PAP, the QRC method was perceived to be more convenient, more accurate, more secure and more environment-friendly and preferred (all p < 0.05). The QRC method was not significantly faster than the PAP (p = 0.361). Conclusion:The QRC method was the preferred attendance record tool compared to the traditional PAP method. Its adoption in the closed and secure environment of a medical campus and hospital is feasible and should be explored.

Location-Linked QR Code as a Safe Tool for Recording Classroom Attendance During COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of Medical Students

“…Enabling geolocation and incorporating it as a crucial step in the scanning and submission process ensured that only in-class attendees submitted their attendance. This passes in agreement with Koh and his colleagues, who also mentioned the risk of fraud and proxy attendance from sharing or sending the QR code remotely to absentees [16].…”

“…This is consistent with the findings of a different study conducted by David and his associates, which determined that QR code is a significantly more convenient method for both students and faculty that can benefit users who prioritize functionality, reliability, and maintainability when checking student attendance [15]. Additionally, compared to the traditional PAP approach, Koh and his colleagues deemed the QR code attendance record tool to be a safer, more favorable, and more convenient method for recording class attendance [16]. Moreover, another study by Molina demonstrated that employing QR codes for data access is not only timesaving and easy, but also environmentally friendly and cost-effective [17].…”

Design of the Student Attendance Management System Based on the Internet of Things Technology

“…e IoT is a consequence of the ongoing evolution of IT. In the realm of the IoT, different kinds of factors can talk to each other and only need to share information needs through the IoT language technology [11,12], which has the following characteristics:…”

Quick Response (QR) codes for patient information delivery: A digital innovation during the coronavirus pandemic

“…Traditional paper leaflets are not future-proof and would require reprinting and have a further impact on the environment. These advantages are confluent with the current literature where the use of QR code smartphone technology were reported to improve knowledge, be more convenient, accurate, secure and environmentally friendly (Dixon et al, 2013;Uzun and Bilgin, 2016;Koh et al, 2017).…”