Computer literacy and attitudes among students in 16 European dental schools: current aspects, regional differences and future trends

Abstract

A questionnaire survey was carried out to investigate the competence and attitude of dental students towards computers. The current study presents the findings deriving from 590 questionnaires collected from 16 European dental schools from 9 countries between October 1998 and October 1999. The results suggest that 60% of students use computers for their education, while 72% have access to the Internet. The overall figures, however, disguise major differences between the various universities. Students in Northern and Western Europe seem to rely mostly on university facilities to access the Internet. The same however, is not true for students in Greece and Spain, who appear to depend on home computers. Less than half the students have been exposed to some form of computer literacy education in their universities, with the great majority acquiring their competence in other ways. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills of the average dental student, within this limited sample of dental schools, do not facilitate full use of new media available. In addition, if the observed regional differences are valid, there may be an educational and political problem that could intensify inequalities among professionals in the future. To minimize this potential problem, closer cooperation between academic institutions, with sharing of resources and expertise, is recommended.

Role of Information Communication Technology in Higher Education: Learners Perspective in Rural Medical Schools

“…Similar were the recommendations by Malaysian study [10] which suggested formal inclusion of ICT instruction in the teaching of undergraduate medicine, to enhance medical students' ability to acquire, appraise, and use information to solve clinical and other problems. A comparative analysis of the past studies and the present study is depicted in [Table/ Fig-10].…”

“…Studies depict high utilization patterns of ICT among health care professionals and learners [8]. In contrast to its extensively acknowledged importance; computer access and computer related skills demonstrate a wide diversity, both regional and within students and faculties of the same institution [9][10][11].…”

Use of computers among students of dental college in Saudi Arabia

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] This study surveyed the current knowledge and skills of dental students at Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy (RCSDP) in use of information and communications technology (ICT). Analyzing IT skills is especially difficult when comparing results over a span of years: what would be seen as a trivial computer task today may have required advanced knowledge a few years ago.…”

“…To conduct the study, we used a questionnaire derived from previous surveys. [5][6][7] The questionnaire (questions and results are shown in Tables 1-4 in appendixhttp://www.jdentaled.org/cgi/ content/full/69/3/387 -T6) consisted of thirty three multiple choice questions in English language (with only questions translated in Arabic). The questionnaire was circulated among the other faculty to obtain comments on its applicability.…”

Computer literacy, skills and knowledge among dentists and dental care professionals (DCPs) within primary care in Scotland

“…1 Information and communication technology (ICT) is currently used in many areas of oral health care, including electronic databases, data transfer and practice management. 2 Appropriate ICT tools (such as email, online databases, internet and computer-assisted learning) may be utilised by staff, not only for personal and professional development, but also for the benefit of patients. 3 There is a national agenda for the development of ICT within health care 4 and firm warnings have been issued about the dangers of 'being left behind'.…”