Student Perceptions on the Role of Instructional Technology in Medical Education

Abstract

Objective: Best practices for using information technology in undergraduate medical education are unknown. Medical student input should play an important role in determining how technology is used in undergraduate medical education. Our objective was to determine student perceptions on the role of teaching technologies in undergraduate medical education. Methods: An anonymous electronic survey was distributed to medical students at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. We assessed medical students confidence (5-point Likert scale with 1 being not very confident and 5 being very confident respectively) and knowledge about teaching technologies (5-point Likert scale with 1 being not very knowledgeable and 5 being very knowledgeable respectively). We asked students to rate (a 5-point Likert scale with 1 being not important, and 5 being very important respectively) which technologies they thought that faculty should know and should learn more about. Results: 96 survey responses (14% response rate) were received from students across all years of training. Students were moderately confident and knowledgeable about teaching technologies (>3 on likert scale). Respondents felt that faculty members should be able to use PowerPoint and online course management systems (>4 on likert scale). Students felt that faculty did not need to know advanced skills such as webpages or smartphone apps(<2 on likert scale). Most students preferred to learn one-to-one from a knowledgeable person. Conclusions: Faculty should focus their efforts on development of fundamental technology skills. It is helpful to get medical student technology learning preferences prior to changes in curriculum and new investments in teaching technologies.