E-Learning for Undergraduate Medical Students

• Main Author: Tashkandi E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2021-06-01
• Series: Advances in Medical Education and Practice
• Subjects: e-learning; e-assessment; mobile-learning; covid-19; medical education
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/e-learning-for-undergraduate-medical-students-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-AMEP

Emad Tashkandi1,2 1Umm AlQura University, College of Medicine, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 2King Abdullah Medical City, Oncology Center, Makkah, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Emad TashkandiUmm AlQura University, College of Medicine, Makkah, Saudi ArabiaTel [phone]Email [e-mail]: Disruption of education can lead to drastic changes and therefore, we need to maximize the benefits of e-technology. We aimed to explore changes in knowledge, attitudes, and challenges regarding e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine how e-learning has influenced academic performance.Methods: We conducted a self-administrated electronic survey to collect information on undergraduate medical students’ e-learning. We evaluated its validity, reliability and pilot tested the instrument.Results: Between August 7 and 19, 2020, we received 995 responses. The majority of respondents answered that they knew about the tools used for e-learning, such as mobile learning, links, online classes, e-assessment; 84% (n=836), 82% (n=815), 82% (n=811) and 80% (n=796), respectively. Two-third of the respondents gained fair/very good knowledge from online classes and discussion boards; 65% (n=635), and 63% (n=620), respectively. Regarding attitudes, less than half had “somewhat” adequate knowledge and proper training; 45% (n=449) and 36% (n=361), respectively, and less than a third had “somewhat” positive feelings; 29% (n=289). The reported challenges were poor Internet speed (55%, n=545) and the lack of clinical experience and physical examination skills (51%, n=512). There is a statistical difference between the test score for the first and second semesters for year 6, year 5, year 4, and year 2 (P value < 0.05).Conclusion: Most respondents reported that they knew about e-learning tools and answered that they gained fair/very good amounts of knowledge accompanied by acceptable attitudes. The challenges need to be addressed to improve e-learning infrastructure. The transition to e-learning accompanied by increased academic performance.Keywords: e-learning, e-assessment, mobile-learning, COVID-19, medical education