Brave new E‐world: Medical students’ preferences for and usage of electronic learning resources during two different phases of their education

Abstract

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creat ive Commo ns Attri butio n-NonCo mmerc ial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

The Michigan Histology website as an example of a free anatomical resource serving learners and educators worldwide

“…The current generation of learners grew up with computers and the Internet and educators often assume that they are familiar with these resources and will embrace them 3,4 . However, more recent analyses indicate that the acceptance of e‐learning resources by students depends on a variety of factors, like convenience of use, easy availability, familiarity with the technology, and a perception that it provides an advantage to the learner 5–7 . In addition, a well‐defined educational purpose and good overall design are central for the success of an e‐learning tool 8,9 …”

“…Professional societies also offer educational databases for their members and often non‐members 23,24 . These free educational tools are complemented by a growing number of commercial medical education resources that are popular with professional students, especially when they prepare for licensing examinations 6,25,26 …”

“…In addition, commercial sites offer access to virtual light micrographs (LMs) and electron micrographs (EMs) that are suitable for histology/microanatomy instruction. However, unless these for‐profit tools are provided by the school, such learning resources can be expensive and may not be affordable for many students and educators in less affluent countries or strata of society 6,47 …”

“…3,4 However, more recent analyses indicate that the acceptance of e-learning resources by students depends on a variety of factors, like convenience of use, easy availability, familiarity with the technology, and a perception that it provides an advantage to the learner. [5][6][7] In addition, a welldefined educational purpose and good overall design are central for the success of an e-learning tool. 8,9 A growing number of Internet sites offer educational material for learning gross anatomy, neuroanatomy, histology, and embryology.…”

“…These free educational tools are complemented by a growing number of commercial medical education resources that are popular with professional students, especially when they prepare for licensing examinations. 6,25,26 As the Internet provides a great vehicle for supporting the switch from the use of traditional light to virtual microscopy for the teaching of histology, [27][28][29][30] websites and virtual image databases play a special role in this transition. 31 Table 1 provides a list of free histology websites with virtual microscopy images.…”