E-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: the impact on medical students’ perceived academic progress

Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic created one of the most stressful situations all around the world and affected almost all activity sectors, including medical education. Sudden restrictions on social interactions forced an abrupt transition from amphitheatres and physical examinations to online lectures and, despite difficulties, the academic community rallied to continue teaching. The swift transition left academia with no time to design custom platforms and confined the university to choose among a set of readily available tools: Google Classroom and Google Meet, Zoom and Moodle, which offer a basic framework for substituting the students’ needs. In some countries, ours included, most of the summer term took place online. Although pandemics are, hopefully, rare events, the experience with online classes should be used to improve and expand current teaching models, since this improvement could be a means to a general improvement of the medical teaching system. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic is not finished yet and many restrictions continue, affecting at least 20% of the total undergraduate training of several generations of doctors. The study aims to identify – within the medical students’ community - transferable aspects of online classes to the post-pandemic teaching in the perspective of blended learning. We deliberately chose to omit the examination part of the educational process in order to set the focus on the delivery of teaching. In this first analysis of the results, the degree of progress in reaching a high professionalism level was analyzed starting from the self-assessment of professional growth, that was previously found to be in good agreement with the actual achievements as derived from the traditional formative examination. [1]

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From COVID-19 adversity comes opportunity: teaching an online integrative medicine course

BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care ◽

10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002713 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. bmjspcare-2020-002713

Author(s):

Eran Ben-Arye ◽

Yael Keshet ◽

Ariel Schiff ◽

Catherine Zollman ◽

Emanuela Portalupi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Integrative Medicine ◽

Student Attitudes ◽

Professional Growth ◽

Academic Community ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Item Questionnaire ◽

Raising Awareness ◽

Elective Course ◽

Potential Risks ◽

The Impact

BackgroundWe examine the impact of a 5-day online elective course in integrative medicine (IM) taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic, attended by 18 medical students from two faculties of medicine in Israel.MethodsThe course curriculum addressed effectiveness and safety of IM practices highlighting supportive and palliative care, demonstrated the work of integrative physicians (IPs) in designing patient-tailored treatments and taught practical skills in communication regarding IM. Group discussions were conducted via Zoom with 32 physicians, healthcare practitioners and IM practitioners working in integrative academic, community and hospital-based settings, in Israel, Italy, UK and Germany. An 18-item questionnaire examined student attitudes and perceived acquisition of skills for implementing what was learned in clinical practice. Student narratives were analysed using ATLAS.Ti software for systematic coding, identifying barriers and advantages of the online learning methodology.ResultsStudents reported a better understanding of the benefits of IM for specific outcomes (p=0.012) and of potential risks associated with these therapies (p=0.048). They also perceived the acquisition of skills related to the IM-focused history (p=0.006), learnt to identify effectiveness and safety of IM treatments (p=0.001), and internalised the referral to IPs for consultation (p=0.001). Student narratives included reflections on the tools provided during the course for assessing effectiveness and safety, enhancing communication with patients, enriching their patient-centred perspective, raising awareness of available therapeutic options, and personal and professional growth.ConclusionsOnline clinical electives in IM are feasible and can significantly increase students’ awareness and modify attitudes towards acquirement of patient-centred perspectives.

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Replicating Anatomical Teaching Specimens using 3D Modelling Embedded within a Multimodal E-Learning Course: A Pre/Post Study Exploring the Impact on Medical Education during COVID-19 (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.30533 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Chelsea Stunden ◽

Sima Zakani ◽

Avery Martin ◽

Shreya Moodley ◽

John Jacob

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Learning Outcomes ◽

Test Scores ◽

Student Attitudes ◽

Congenital Heart ◽

Secondary Outcome ◽

First Year ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

E Learning ◽

The Impact

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had significant effects on anatomy education. During the pandemic, students have had no access to cadavers, which has been the principal way of learning anatomy. We created and tested a customized congenital heart disease e-learning course for medical students that contained interactive 3D models of anonymized pediatric congenital heart defects. OBJECTIVE To assess if a multimodal e-learning course contributed to learning outcomes in a cohort of first year undergraduate medical students study congenital heart diseases. Secondarily, we assess student attitudes and experiences associated with multimodal e-learning. METHODS The pre/post study design involved 290 first year undergraduate medical students. Recruitment was conducted through the course instructors. Data were collected before using the course and after using the course. The primary outcome was knowledge acquisition (test scores). The secondary outcome included attitudes and experiences, as well as time to complete the modules, and browser metadata. RESULTS A total of 141 students were included in the final analysis (N=141). Students’ knowledge significantly improved by an average of 44.6% when using the course (SD 1.73, Z = -10.287, p < 0.001). 88.26% of students were highly motivated to learn with the course and 93.5% of students reported positive experiences with the course. There was a strong correlation between attitudes and experiences, which was statistically significant (rs = 0.687, p<0.001, N = 122). There were no relationships found between change test scores and attitudes or experiences (p>0.05). Students most frequently completed the e-learning course with Chrome (77.3%), and on Apple MacOS (61.0%) or Windows 10 (36.9%). Most students had devices with high-definition screens (83.0%). Most students (58.9%) completed the course in under 3 hours. CONCLUSIONS Multi-modal e-learning could be a viable solution to improving learning outcomes and experiences for undergraduate medical students, who do not have access to cadavers. Future research should focus on validating long-term learning outcomes. CLINICALTRIAL n/a

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Problems and potentialities of e-Learning for regular undergraduate courses in emergency medicine

Revista Brasileira de Educação Médica ◽

10.1590/s0100-55022010000300016 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 452-458 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

William Rafaelo Schlinkert ◽

Sandro Scarpelini ◽

Antonio Pazin-Filho

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Multiple Choice ◽

First Aid ◽

Student Knowledge ◽

Multiple Choice Tests ◽

Reading Material ◽

Learning Techniques ◽

Choice Tests ◽

E Learning ◽

The Impact

BACKGROUND: E-learning techniques are spreading at great speed in medicine, raising concerns about the impact of adopting them. Websites especially designed to host courses are becoming more common. There is a lack of evidence that these systems could enhance student knowledge acquisition. GOAL: To evaluate the impact of using dedicated-website tools over cognition of medical students exposed to a first-aid course. METHODS: Prospective study of 184 medical students exposed to a twenty-hour first-aid course. We generated a dedicated-website with several sections (lectures, additional reading material, video and multiple choice exercises). We constructed variables expressing the student's access to each section. The evaluation was composed of fifty multiple-choice tests, based on clinical problems. We used multiple linear regression to adjust for potential confounders. RESULTS: There was no association of website intensity of exposure and the outcome - beta-coeficient 0.27 (95%CI - 0.454 - 1.004). These findings were not altered after adjustment for potential confounders - 0.165 (95%CI -0.628 - 0.960). CONCLUSION: A dedicated website with passive and active capabilities for aiding in person learning had not shown association with a better outcome.

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Comparison of Virtual and Actual Education Models on the Learning of Internal Interns During the Pandemic of COVID-19

10.21203/rs.3.rs-506082/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Azadeh Mottaghi ◽

Nazanin Alibeik ◽

Shokoufeh Savaj ◽

Behnam Shakiba ◽

Raheleh Alimoradzadeh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Good Alternative ◽

Educational Process ◽

Virtual Education ◽

P Value ◽

Educational Models ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Post Test ◽

E Learning ◽

The Mean

Abstract Background: Following the outbreak of coronavirus and its impact on the educational process of medical students, attention was paid to e-learning due to importance of education and research. The aim of present study is to evaluation of virtual and actual education models on the learning of internal interns during the pandemic of COVID-19. Results: The mean±SD age of the participants was 24.9±2.3 years, 46% of participants were men and 54% of them live in dormitory. Results of study shows that difference of pre-test and post-test score with actual and virtual education models in the male and female is significantly different (P value=0.020). Virtual education for men and actual education for women have resulted in higher difference scores in pre-test and post-test. Actual and virtual education models were no different in academic achievements of participants. Thus, the scores obtained in 9 areas did not make a significant difference between the two types of educational models.Discussion: Virtual and actual education methods for internal interns were examined and the results showed that there is no significant difference between these two methods in student output. Given the conditions that have created by COVID-19 disease in the world, it seems that the use of virtual education can be a good alternative to educating medical students so that education does not stop.

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FORMATION OF SOCIAL EDUCATOR’S DIGITAL COMPETENCE AS A WAY TO PROFESSIONAL GROWTH

Educological discourse ◽

10.28925/2312-5829.2021.2.13 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 185-204

Author(s):

Olesia Vlasii ◽

Olha Dudka ◽

Nadiia Ivanochko

Keyword(s):

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

Professional Growth ◽

Professional Competence ◽

Educational Process ◽

Digital Tools ◽

Professional Activity ◽

Digital Competence ◽

Professional Activities ◽

Internet Resources ◽

The Impact

In the article, the impact of digitalization of education on the transformation of the professional competence of a social educators is analyzed; the need of the formation of digital competence of social educators in the context of the widespread implementation of information and communication technologies in the educational process is substantiated; the state of using educational Internet resources in the professional activities of social educators is analyzed; the importance of improving the level of digital competence as a component of the professional competence of social educators is substantiated; the use of digital tools as a practical toolkit for social educators is proposed; a brief overview of digital tools that will be useful in the work of a social educator is provided; a training course "Using Internet resources in the work of a social educator" developed by authors is presented; the course consists of four modules in accordance with the main directions of the social educator's activities, in particular, diagnostic, developmental, educational and preventive work; the course has a practical focus, for the implementation of practical tasks, adapted to the professional activity of a social educator, instructional and methodological materials are developed that make it possible to conduct the course both offline and online; the course is developed on the principles of accessibility, comprehensibility, professional orientation and motivation; to implement the developed course, it is recommended to use the Google Classroom platform, which makes it possible to combine traditional and innovative forms and methods of teaching, which is especially important in the context of the introduction of distance and blended learning; the results of approbation of the developed course, which was conducted for social educators of the Nadvirnyansky district of Ivano-Frankivsk region are presented; taking into account the results of approbation, the conclusion is given about the advisability of using the course for the professional growth of social educators, including for the formation of the readiness of a social educator for the implementation of digital tools into professional activities.

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USE OF E-LEARNING TOOLS ON HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

International Journal of Advanced Research ◽

10.21474/ijar01/12217 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (12) ◽

pp. 805-810

Author(s):

Alka Sharma ◽

◽

Hina Jain Gupta ◽

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Quality Education ◽

Educational Institutions ◽

Learning Tools ◽

Higher Educational Institutions ◽

E Learning ◽

Higher Educational ◽

Almost All ◽

The Impact ◽

Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

In the last two decades, technology has evolved at a great pace and has influenced almost all spheres of life and education is no exception to it. Nowadays, most of the educational institutions are using various tools and equipments to impart education to the students. This paper has tried to explore the impact of e-education tools on thestudents in higher educational institutions. The sample consists of students enrolled in higher educational institutions. Both quantitative and qualitative methods have been adopted for data collection including questionnaires, semi-structured &open-ended interviews. Use of computer and internet was found to be one of the most important e-learning tools. The findings are expected to assist the higher educational institutions in framing their policies to impart quality education to the students.

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A Blended Course to Teach Graphical Programming Using LabVIEW

Practical Applications and Experiences in K-20 Blended Learning Environments - Advances in Mobile and Distance Learning ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-4912-5.ch022 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 330-340

Author(s):

Yücel Uğurlu

Keyword(s):

Blended Learning ◽

Engineering Students ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Learning System ◽

Self Assessment ◽

Graphical Programming ◽

Certification Test ◽

E Learning ◽

The Impact ◽

Blended Course

In this chapter, the authors introduce a blended learning approach where LabVIEW, an e-learning environment, was integrated into a traditional graphical programming course for engineering students to teach advanced topics and to increase the programming skills of the students. In this course, the students were required to design projects using technology. The students designed small projects and frequently accessed the e-learning system to build real-world applications. The projects that students designed stimulated them to use the e-learning system. The impact of blended learning was evaluated on the basis of student surveys and certification test results. Experimental studies show that blended learning produced higher results in the students’ self-assessment and certification test.

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A Blended Course to Teach Graphical Programming Using LabVIEW

Curriculum Design and Classroom Management ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-8246-7.ch017 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 299-310

Author(s):

Yücel Uğurlu

Keyword(s):

Blended Learning ◽

Engineering Students ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Learning System ◽

Self Assessment ◽

Graphical Programming ◽

Certification Test ◽

E Learning ◽

The Impact ◽

Blended Course

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Applied Model of E-Learning in the Framework of Education for Sustainable Development

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12166420 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (16) ◽

pp. 6420 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tong Zhang ◽

Zaffar A. Shaikh ◽

Alexei V. Yumashev ◽

Monika Chłąd

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Distance Education ◽

Personal Development ◽

Professional Growth ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Education For Sustainable Development ◽

Educational Process ◽

Individual Growth ◽

Applied Model ◽

E Learning

Education for sustainable development is an evolving concept aimed at providing an understanding of the relationship between sustainable development issues and the development of knowledge, skills, perspectives and values, which will enable people of all ages to commit themselves to creating a sustainable future. The aim of the study is the development of a widely applicable model of e-learning, which consists of seven consecutive levels of professional and personal development and is conceptually associated with a self-regulation strategy. The methodological core of such model creation is the theory of niche construction. Its application to the understanding of the systemic educational process allowed the assumption that, under the evolutionary pressure of the educational environment, a person is engaged in self-learning and self-development processes. Thus, needing to adapt to the educational niche’s interaction, the individual affects its development through active inclusion in the training process, showing a personal evolutionary impulse. The system, in turn, affects one’s individual growth through the socialization of his/her personal and professional qualities. The scientific novelty of this article lies in the proposed widely applicable, presumably universal model of distance education, which consists of seven levels of professional development. The results show progress in students’ mastery of skills, which are an integral part of education for sustainable development (ESD), namely, foresight, critical thinking and reflection, systemic thinking, building partnerships, and participating in decision-making. This article also demonstrates the existing functionality of platforms that technologically support the educational process, indicates their strengths and defines areas for further improvement and development within the framework regarding the concept of education for sustainable development. The study outcomes confirm the effectiveness of a universal distance education model for the stable professional growth of tourism and hospitality staff. Thus, it is advisable to implement the model’s conceptual structure into educational programs of modern e-learning systems. Supposed universality of the model opens up the possibility of its use in almost all fields for training personnel.

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The use of information and communication technologies in training ecology students

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/202016610027 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 166 ◽

pp. 10027

Author(s):

Iryna Barna ◽

Lіudmyla Hrytsak ◽

Halyna Henseruk

Keyword(s):

Environmental Impact ◽

Impact Assessment ◽

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

Environmental Impact Assessment ◽

Professional Growth ◽

Communication Technologies ◽

Educational Process ◽

Group Project ◽

Information And Communication ◽

The Impact

Increasing demand for experts capable of high-quality assessment of the impact of a particular planned activity on the environment involves a more effective use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the educational process of training ecology students. The authors present a methodology for students to study the educational material of the “Environmental Impact Assessment” course by using ICT. The methodology and algorithm for using the Padlet interactive whiteboard, Mindomo mind maps, Easel infographics, Google Drive and Google Docs in lectures and practical lessons are described. Particular attention is paid to the preparation of a group project using ICT. Tested in the Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University, the methodology allows to implement a number of tasks such as: promotion of intensification and effectiveness of teaching; acquisition of practical skills to quickly find the necessary information on various online resources for ecology students; simulation of the real procedure of environmental impact assessment in the classroom; development of the ability to professionally communicate with experts in other fields of knowledge or activity, etc. Examination of the results of using ICT to study the “Environmental Impact Assessment” course has shown a significant increase in informational literacy among ecology students and their individual professional growth.

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