A Quick Response (QR) code is a type of 2-dimensional barcode. Released in 1994, QR codes were originally invented by the Denso-Wave. A QR code records information in both vertical and horizontal directions. The information in a smaller space may be text, URL, or other data. Users can retrieve information using a dedicated QR code readers and camera telephones. Quick Response codes are useful in nursing education because they (1) are easy to generate (you only need to paste the address of a Web site into a QR code generating software); (2) have fast readability (using handheld devices, eg, an iPad or a smartphone, students can quickly gain access to information; (3) are affordable; and (4) provide an efficient and flexible way to get information from many different sources. There are several ways QR codes may be applied in nursing education. Quick Response codes can be used to retrieve multimedia material such as text, Web pages, graphics, PowerPoint files, and audio and video clips. As a feedback tool, QR code is a fast method to exchange information, and as a formative assessment tool, it can be used for answering questions, tests, and quizzes.

Submitted by: Kai-Yin Lin, PhD, Professor, Center of General Education, National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Taichung City, Taiwan (mailto:[email protected]). This research was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of China (NSC 102-2511-S-025-002).