E-learning as a complement to presential teaching of blindness prevention: a randomized clinical trial

• Main Authors: Rodrigo Pessoa Cavalcanti Lira, João Paulo Fernandes Felix, Fernando Rodrigo Pedreira Chaves, Enzo Augusto Medeiros Fulco, Keila Miriam Monteiro de Carvalho, Anita Zimmermann
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Oftalmologia 2013-02-01
• Series: Revista Brasileira de Oftalmologia
• Subjects: Cegueira; Aprendizado; Internet; Educação à distância
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-72802013000100008&lng=en&tlng=en

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if E-learning material improves the basal student knowledge level before attending the presential class of blindness prevention (BP) and if helps to fix this information one-month after the class. METHODS: Fourth-year medical students were randomly assigned to have a presential class of BP (Traditional group = TG) or to have a presential class of BP plus an additional E-learning material (E-learning group = ELG). This material was e-mailed one week before the presential class. The students were submitted to a multiple-choice test (with three options each) with seven questions immediately before the presential class, immediately after the class, and one-month later. The three tests had the same questions; however, the answers options were distributed in different sequences. The primary outcome was immediate pretest score. The secondary outcomes were immediate posttest score and one-month posttest score. RESULTS: Among the 120 fourth-year medical students, a random sample of 34 students was assigned to the TG and 34 students was assigned to the ELG. The two groups showed similar immediate posttest score (TG=6.8 and ELG=6.9; P<.754), but the differences at the immediate pretest score (TG=3.6 and ELG=4.7; P<.001), and at the one-month posttest score, were significant (TG=6.1 and ELG=6.8; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The pretest and the one-month posttest results suggested that the E-learning material acts as an effective complementary tool of the presential class of blindness prevention.