Finn Erin, Ayres Fred, Goldberg Stephen, Hortsch Michael
University of Michigan Medical School Ann Arbor Michigan USA.
Department of Anesthesiology University of California Irvine Medical Center Irvine California USA.
FASEB Bioadv. 2022 Jan 17;4(5):298-308. doi: 10.1096/fba.2021-00124. eCollection 2022 May.
E-learning strategies have become an important part of biomedical education. However, why and how medical students select hardware tools and software formats during their preclinical education has not been sufficiently evaluated. These aspects should be considered when designing or offering new e-learning modalities to learners. Two medical school classes at a major US medical school were surveyed about their use of e-learning resources during their first year of medical school or their preparation for their first licensing examination (USMLE® Step 1), respectively. Their responses were analyzed for patterns and significant changes. Students' answers indicated that computers and tablets were considered the most important hardware devices to support students' learning. During the first year, students often preferred resources that were tailored to the specific courses in their curriculum. In contrast, some preferences changed when students prepared for the USMLE Step 1, with students shifting almost exclusively to a solitary learning strategy using commercial e-learning resources. Across all phases of medical school education queried, peer advice was the major determinant influencing e-learning resource selection with faculty only playing a minor role. Videos were the most popular e-learning modality, and students cited efficient acquisition of knowledge and preparation for examinations as major reasons for e-learning tool utilization. These factors should be considered when offering e-learning resources to medical students during different phases of their preclinical training.
电子学习策略已成为生物医学教育的重要组成部分。然而，医学生在临床前教育期间选择硬件工具和软件格式的原因及方式尚未得到充分评估。在为学习者设计或提供新的电子学习模式时，应考虑这些方面。美国一所主要医学院的两个班级分别接受了关于他们在医学院第一年使用电子学习资源的情况或他们为第一次执业资格考试（美国医师执照考试第一步）做准备的情况的调查。对他们的回答进行了模式和显著变化分析。学生的回答表明，计算机和平板电脑被认为是支持学生学习的最重要硬件设备。在第一年，学生通常更喜欢针对其课程中特定课程量身定制的资源。相比之下，当学生为美国医师执照考试第一步做准备时，一些偏好发生了变化，学生几乎完全转向使用商业电子学习资源的单独学习策略。在查询的医学院教育的所有阶段中，同伴建议是影响电子学习资源选择的主要决定因素，而教师仅起次要作用。视频是最受欢迎的电子学习模式，学生将高效获取知识和备考作为使用电子学习工具的主要原因。在为医学生临床前培训的不同阶段提供电子学习资源时，应考虑这些因素。
