E-Learning Experiences Among Nursing Students: A Scoping Review.

Background: Electronic learning (e-learning) is a broader approach to learning that opens up new avenues for studying and teaching in many sectors of education outside of the standard classroom setting. This paper might enhance cultural competence among nursing students and the perspective of the lecturer. Methods: Literature databases of Cinahl "Ebsco", Pubmed, and Science Direct were searched, and 326 potentially relevant nursing research articles were reviewed between 2017 and 2022. Fourteen papers were found to meet the inclusion criteria. Results: Fourteen articles were included for scoping review, themes include blended E-learning, nursing students' e-learning readiness, and The challenges with the E-learning system. First: Blended learning may be a beneficial educational strategy in nursing education but it also requires a cautious and carefully planned approach with sufficient time for each student. Second: E-readiness is an important component of academic success, and prospective e-learning users' capacity to use a new learning environment, as well as alternative technologies, is referred to as e-learning readiness. In addition, continuous readiness assessment is required to ensure the successful deployment of e-learning. Thirdly, Accessibility is the most significant challenge students experience; many other issues also challenge e-learning, such as Infrastructure, Ineffective Time Management, and a lack of Instant Communication. Conclusion: E-learning, on the other hand, can provide an alternate mode of education, blended learning Proven to be effective as a modern learning method, students' e-learning readiness was a significant predictor of their satisfaction and motivation in the classroom, there are still concerns about the instructional veracity of e-Learning, as well as how to analyze and overcome hurdles and fears in e-Learning. Implications: Specialized implications for practical ramifications include strategic management planning, curriculum enhancement, and raising standards at the lecturer level in several specific areas.

Blended learning has a significant impact on enhancing the learning process by combining instructional strategies to boost student outcomes and motivation.Success requires strategic planning, faculty development, and embracing digital resources. Access to the Internet, hardware, and regular training facilitate effective e-learning.The study emphasizes the significance of taking learning styles and student requirements into account during the course development process. Future research should investigate the cost-effectiveness of integrated nursing courses and broaden their application to all levels of nursing education.This review will contribute to the incorporation of blended learning, which facilitates the transition of nursing students to competency-based education and continuous learning, while technological proficiency becomes essential for maximizing the benefits of e-learning.

Orthopaedic Sport Medicine Surgeons and Fellows Value Immersive Virtual Reality for Improving Surgical Training, Procedural Planning, and Distance Learning.

BACKGROUND: Overall, the potential utility of iVR technology in orthopaedic surgery is promising. The attitudes of medical students and surgical trainees on VR simulated surgical training have been overwhelmingly positive. However, further research and understanding of the attitudes of practicing orthopaedic surgeons and Fellows are needed to appreciate its benefits for clinical practice. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes of Canadian orthopaedic surgeons and Fellows on the value of iVR for surgical training, clinical practice, and distance learning. METHODS: Forty-three orthopedic surgeons and Fellows attended a VRthrscopy™ Knee Module (Conmed Corporation, Largo, USA) demonstration. The view and audio from the lead headset were cast to a large screen so the audience could follow the procedure in real-time. Immediately after the presentation, the audience members were given a paper questionnaire assessing their perceptions and attitudes toward iVR or use in orthopaedic learning, clinical practice and distance education and mentoring. RESULTS: iVR was perceived to be valuable for the field of orthopaedic surgery. All 13 questions were rated with mean Likert scores of five or greater indicating observed value for all 13 questions. The respondents indicated that iVR had value (score of 5 or greater) in each questionnaire domain, with agreement ranging from 78-98% for teaching and learning, 66-97% for clinical practice, and 88-100% for distance education and mentoring questions. CONCLUSION: This study has demonstrated that a group of Canadian sport medicine orthopedic surgeons and Fellows had favourable attitudes towards, and perceived that iVR has value in, orthopaedic surgical training, clinical practice, and distance learning and mentorship. The potential for utilizing iVR technology for distance learning, mentorship and global education appears promising.

Nursing faculty development program for digital teaching competence.

BACKGROUND: Nursing faculties need to develop digital competencies to effectively use information, communication, and technology-based nursing education. PURPOSE: The study aimed to develop and apply a theory-guided faculty development program on digital teaching competencies. METHODS: A faculty development program was developed. Between March and April 2020, three five-hour web workshops participated by ninety-three faculty members were held. The program was assessed via mixed methods, combining satisfaction surveys post-workshop with content analysis of open-ended questionnaires to gauge participant evaluation of program content and learning experience. RESULTS: Participants were highly satisfied with the program contents and their opportunity for integrating digital technology into education and improving faculty proficiency in digital teaching technology. CONCLUSIONS: The program provides faculties with the self-confidence and essential skills to teach students using information, communication, and technology-based nursing education by enhancing their digital teaching competencies. It is critical to integrate both digital proficiency and nursing practice education.

Determining nursing students' attitudes towards, readiness for, expectations from and satisfaction with distance education and their sense of alienation from their university.

OBJECTIVE: To determine nursing students' views on attitudes towards distance education during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. METHODS: The analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted in May and June 2022 at a state university in the Mediterranean region of Türkiye, and comprised nursing students. Data were collected using the Attitude Towards e- Learning Scale, e-Readiness for e-Learning and Expectations Scale, e-Satisfaction Scale, and University Alienation Scale. Data were analysed SPSS 26. RESULTS: Of the 322 participants, 213 (66.1%) were females, and 159 (49.4%) were staying in hostel dormitories. The mean age of the sample was 20.36±1.63 years. There was a significant, moderate and positive correlation between the students' scores from with respect to readiness, satisfaction, transmission, practicality and content of distance learning (p<0.05). There was a significant, weak and positive correlation of readiness with the education process, interaction and assessment values (p≤0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Alienation towards university education increased in relation to technology skills.

Is better readiness the key to deeper learning in distance education? A cross-sectional online study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has required teachers and students to suddenly transition from face-to-face formats to distance education (DE). The uniqueness of nursing discipline is that it requires both theoretical and skills-based learning. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the influencing factors and effectiveness of DE in nursing education. This exploration can guide teaching practice and provide a basis for the future application of DE in nursing education. Aims: To describe the current distance education readiness and depth of learning among undergraduate nursing students and explore possible influencing factors. To determine the relationship between students' distance education readiness and the depth of learning. Design: This is a descriptive and cross-sectional online study. Settings: School of Nursing in a traditional Chinese medicine university, Beijing, China. Participants: A total of 222 undergraduate nursing students from a traditional Chinese medicine university were recruited. Methods: A questionnaire, which is composed of information form, the Online Learning Readiness Scale, and the Scale of Students Making Deep Learning, was used for data collection. Frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlations were used in the analysis of the data. Result: Undergraduate nursing students have lower averages in distance education readiness and higher averages in the depth of learning. Significant differences in distance education readiness and depth of learning between different grade groups. A positive correlation was found between distance education readiness and depth of learning (r = 0.894, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Distance education is a feasible approach to learning today. Undergraduate nursing students have exhibited poor readiness for distance education but demonstrated deeper learning conditions. Upper grades may lead to better learning outcomes. Better distance education readiness can lead to deeper learning. These conclusions prompt teachers and students to be prepared before participating in distance education to obtain better academic performance.

Perceived usefulness of medical teachers towards online learning using technology acceptance model.

Objective: To determine medical teachers' acceptance of and attitude towards online learning, and to gather their recommendations about how it can be incorporated in the educational system. METHODS: The mixed method study was conducted at Gujranwala Medical College, Gujranwala, Pakistan, from August 2021 to January 2022, and comprised medical teachers involved in online teaching during the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic. Quantitative data was gathered using an online questionnaire based on the technology acceptance model. The qualitative component was explored through 2 focussed group discussions. Data was analysed using SPSS 25. RESULTS: Of the 50 teachers, 31(62%) were males and 19(38%) were females. The overall mean age was 42.9±7.9 years, and the mean teaching experience was 10.9±7.9 years. Mean perceived usefulness score was 3.2±0.9 and the mean perceived ease of use score was 3.6±0.6. The mean scores were 3.3±0.9 for intention to use and 3.5±0.7 for attitude towards computer use. There was a strong positive correlation of perceived usefulness with intention to use and attitude towards computer use (p<0.05), while perceived ease of use and intention to use had a strong correlation with attitude towards computer use (p<0.05). There were total 12 participants in focussed group discussions; 2(16.7%) females and 10(83.3%) males with mean age 44.34±5.23 years. A total of 4 major themes were identified. Conclusion: Majority of medical teachers strongly agreed with the acceptance of e-learning, and agreed with its perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use for online learning.

Exploring success factors and relationships in virtual learning using ISM and fuzzy MICMAC analysis.

The COVID-19 pandemic's consequences have led to a global change in educational settings towards online learning. The utilization of virtual learning (VL) has increased significantly. This study aimed to extract the success factors of VL and also examine the relationships among them. The research method involves examining factors identified in the literature review and seeking confirmation from experts using the Content Validity Index (CVI) method. Ten success factors are extracted and confirmed, including Technological, Management, Learning Capability, Pedagogical, Ethical, Resource Support, Interface Design, Evaluation, Institutional, and Study Environment. Based on the Interpretive Structural Model (ISM) method and the fuzzy matrix of cross-impact multiplications applied to classification (MICMAC), which divides the factors into five levels, the relationship between these factors is examined. Level I emphasizes the importance of evaluation mechanisms. Level II stresses integrating pedagogical, ethical, resource support, and institutional aspects. Level III highlights the alignment of learner capabilities with platform interfaces. Level IV underscores the significance of the learning environment. Lastly, Level V emphasizes the interplay between technology and management in VL's expansion. The findings of this study can be developed and customized through collaboration among instructors, learners, and institutions. Moreover, the findings from correlating success factors can be applied in practical learning experiments or utilized to develop efficient modeling manuals.

"Better than my professor?" How to develop artificial intelligence tools for higher education.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are currently designed and tested in many fields to improve humans' ability to make decisions. One of these fields is higher education. For example, AI-based chatbots ("conversational pedagogical agents") could engage in conversations with students in order to provide timely feedback and responses to questions while the learning process is taking place and to collect data to personalize the delivery of course materials. However, many existent tools are able to perform tasks that human professionals (educators, tutors, professors) could perform, just in a timelier manner. While discussing the possible implementation of AI-based tools in our university's educational programs, we reviewed the current literature and identified a number of capabilities that future AI solutions may feature, in order to improve higher education processes, with a focus on distance higher education. Specifically, we suggest that innovative tools could influence the methodologies by which students approach learning; facilitate connections and information attainment beyond course materials; support the communication with the professor; and, draw from motivation theories to foster learning engagement, in a personalized manner. Future research should explore high-level opportunities represented by AI for higher education, including their effects on learning outcomes and the quality of the learning experience as a whole.

Psychological Impact of Covid-19 on Dental Students' - An Interventional Study.

Background: COVID-19 pandemic impacts not only the physical health but also the mental health of every individual. Aim and Objectives: To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental and physical health of college students. Method: An online survey was conducted using convenience sampling on 512 participants. The student's mental health was assessed by using DASS 21 analysis and sleep patterns were recorded on the PSQI scale. Result: The overall effect of the pandemic on the mental health of college students was affected to varying degrees. On comparing all variables of DASS analyses, it was found that of the 512 college students, 57.4% were depressed and 51.6% fell into the anxious category. Conclusion: It is concluded that young adults experienced increases in anxiety, stress, and depressive symptoms during this pandemic.

Intelligent recommendation system for College English courses based on graph convolutional networks.

With the rapid development of international communication, the number of English courses has shown an explosive growth trend, which has caused a serious problem of information overload, resulting in poor teaching performance of recommended English courses. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a graph convolutional neural network model based on College English course texts, students' major, English foundation and network structure characteristics. First, by analyzing the relevant data of College English courses and combining with graph neural network, an English course recommendation algorithm model based on the College English learning strategy of proximity comparison is proposed. Then, the College English texts are taken as feature input, and multi-layer graph convolutional neural network is used to process the above graph neural network structure. Attention mechanism is introduced to enhance the representation of graph features in College English skills. Finally, multi-layer attention model is used to process the courses that users have learned, and intelligent course recommendation is made by combining the multi-layer attention modeling of College English skills. The experimental data show that the proposed method achieves the best performance compared with the commonly used College English course recommendation method.

Satisfacción de los estudiantes de Odontología con el aprendizaje blended-learning en la Universidad San Sebastián, Chile / Student satisfaction with blended-learning in dentistry education in San Sebastian University, Chile

Introducción: La asignatura de Preclínico y Rehabilitación de la licenciatura de Odontología de la Universidad San Sebastián (Chile) prepara a los estudiantes para el desarrollo de habilidades prácticas que permiten el trabajo clínico con pacientes. En el año académico 2020-2021, posterior a la cuarentena por COVID-19, se mantuvo el curso en un entorno de aprendizaje en línea y con carácter semipresencial, apoyándose en un enfoque de aula invertida incorporando la estrategia blended-learning (B-learning). Objetivo: Evaluar la satisfacción del estudiantado con respecto a las actividades prácticas en modalidad B-learning.Materiales y métodos. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo-observacional. Se analizó el programa de la asignatura para desarrollar diversos recursos que se alojaron en una plataforma learning management system para efectuar una metodología de aula invertida. En 2022 se aplicó un instrumento en línea a 143 estudiantes con 18 ítems, en los que se usó una escala de tipo Likert para valorar su satisfacción en relación con la modalidad B-learning utilizada en la asignatura de Preclínico y Rehabilitación. Resultados: De 143 estudiantes inscritos en el curso 2021, contestaron 77. Se evidenció una buena consistencia internadel instrumento a través de un análisis del alfa de Cronbach (0,9). Para la subdimensión satisfacción con el aprendizaje se obtuvo una alta satisfacción, un 82,56%; un 86,75% en el ámbito de las metodologías y recursos; y un 94,38% para elproceso docente. Conclusiones: La modalidad B-learning se consideró satisfactoria para el estudiantado. El instrumento utilizado mostróuna buena consistencia interna, lo que permite retroalimentar procesos educativos.(AU)

Introduction: The Preclinical and Rehabilitation course in the Dentistry Degree at the University San Sebastian in Chile, prepares students for the development of practical skills essential for clinical work with patients. In the academic year 2020-2021, following the COVID-19 quarantine, the course was conducted in a blended learning environment, combining online and semi-presential aspects, employing a flipped classroom approach with the integration of blended learning (B-learning) strategy. Objective: To assess student satisfaction regarding practical activities in the B-learning mode.Materials and methods. A descriptive-observational study was conducted. The course program was analyzed to develop various resources hosted on a learning management system platform to implement a flipped classroom methodology. In 2022, an online instrument with 18 items, using a Likert scale, was administered to 143 students to assess their satisfaction with the B-learning mode in the Preclinical and Rehabilitation course. Results: Out of 143 enrolled students in the 2021 academic year, 77 responded. The instrument showed good internal consistency through Cronbach’s alpha analysis (0.9). For the satisfaction with learning sub-dimension, high satisfaction rates were obtained (82.56%), 86.75% for methodologies and resources, and 94.38% for the teaching process. Conclusions: The B-learning mode was considered satisfactory for the students. The instrument used demonstrated good internal consistency, providing feedback for educational processes.(AU)

War and education: the attacks on medical schools amidst ongoing armed conflict, Sudan 2023.

BACKGROUND: War results in widespread destruction of a country's infrastructure, healthcare facilities, and educational institutions. This study aims to assess the attacks on medical schools amidst the ongoing conflict in Sudan. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted across 58 medical schools located in the states of Khartoum, Darfur, and Kordofan. Data on attacks between April 15, 2023, and July 15th 2023, were collected using online data collection form. RESULTS: All medical schools in conflict areas were included in the study. More than half (58.6%) of these medical schools were attacked. Private schools, constituting the majority of the study sample, were the most frequently attacked (70.6%). Of these, 52.9% were located in Khartoum city. More than one form of attack was reported in 64.7% of the affected schools. Looting occurred in 73.5% of the attacked faculties, while 67.6% of them were converted into military bases. Despite these challenges, 60.3% of the schools in the conflict zone managed to restore the educational process through online learning and collaboration with other institutions. CONCLUSION: During a three-month period of warfare, most medical schools within conflict zones were attacked. This emphasizes the vulnerability of medical education institutions during war and highlights the urgent need of the Ministry of Higher Education interventions to provide leadership, support, and oversight for the educational process in medical schools across the country.

A social network analysis of college students' online learning during the epidemic era: A triadic reciprocal determinism perspective.

The way in which college students learn online has dramatically altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the triadic reciprocal determinism (TRD) theory, this study aimed to identify the key factors influencing college students' online learning experience through sentiment analysis, text mining, and social network analysis (SNA). Macro- and micro-level parsing was conducted on the SNA model, which was divided into core, mantle, and shell layers to determine the most influential factors in the core layer. This study found that learners' personal factors, learning behaviors, and related elements in the online learning environment significantly influenced the learning outcomes of college students enrolled in online courses. Additionally, this study explored the distribution of SNA model elements in the mantle and peripheral shell layers, which also impact the online learning experience of college students. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive overview of the various factors affecting college students' online learning experience, and highlights the importance of considering these factors when designing online learning environments for college students.

Development of a strategy for the expansion of online teaching at the University of Würzburg based on the experiences of lecturers and students in the pandemic years 2020/21.

Background: Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer of 2020 saw face-to-face teaching replaced by online teaching. The question arose as to how digitalisation may be implemented meaningfully. The views of lecturers and students on past online programmes were gathered in order to identify potential and future prospects. Project description: An exploratory, guidelines-based interview study was conducted during the clinical phase of the medicine degree at the Faculty of Medicine in Würzburg. Five lecturers and five students were interviewed in the winter semester of 2020/21. This was followed by a content analysis evaluation according to Kuckartz, with the help of MAXQDA. Results: Online teaching offers more flexibility and security for the future. Hybrid formats (e.g., blended learning) are in demand. While theoretical knowledge can be taught online, face-to-face teaching remains essential in practical training. Digital elements must be developed didactically and anchored in the curriculum. Interaction and direct feedback between students and lecturers are key aspects of this. Discussion: Online teaching in medicine offers numerous potentials and didactic design options that can improve the degree programme in a competency-based manner. Combined teaching formats are particularly effective in this regard. Fittingly conceived, multimedia teaching formats enable students to approach their studies in a focused manner. The points raised during the interviews correspond with the fundamental principles of the ARCS model, which was developed to strengthen continuous motivation in students. Conclusion: Well-thought-out design and integration of online teaching can contribute to attractive, efficient, and future-oriented teaching/learning activities. Decisive factors are the collaboration of everyone involved and adequate provision of both time and financial resources.

The effect of a distance education training program on nurse Interns' readiness for distance education and their perceptions of lifelong learning.

AIM: The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of a distance education training program on nurse interns' readiness for distance education and their perceptions of lifelong learning. DESIGN: A quasi-experimental research approach with one-group, pre/post-test was used. METHODS: The study used a quasi-experimental research approach and was carried out at Damanhour University's Faculty of Nursing. A study was carried out on 345 interns' students. All nursing interns enrolled in the 2020-2021 internship training year. The researchers employed a program that contained a distance education readiness assessment as well as a questionnaire about the perceived advantages of lifelong learning. RESULTS: The majority (99.7%) of nurse interns were highly ready for distance education, whereas only 0.3 percent were moderately ready following the training program implementation immediately. In comparison to pre-training, the majority (91.9%) of them were somewhat ready for distance education, while just 7.2 percent were highly prepared. Furthermore, the majority (97.1%) of them had high total skills of distance education after implementation of the training program by 3 months, and 95.4 percent had high total skills of learning immediately after the training program, whereas 26.1% of nurse interns had high total skills before the training program, at p value 0.01.

Challenges faced by teachers of postgraduate health professions blended learning programs: a qualitative analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Blended learning, which integrates classroom face-to-face teaching with both asynchronous and synchronous online learning elements, has swiftly gained acceptance in educational environments. However, the implementation of blended learning presents challenges that impact all stakeholders, necessitating thoughtful consideration. Teachers play a central role in shaping the instructional experience among these stakeholders. To fully realize the potential of comprehensive blended learning, it is imperative to identify the challenges faced by these teachers and develop strategies that sensibly address and overcome them. METHODOLOGY: A qualitative exploratory study was conducted with twelve teachers involved in the postgraduate blended learning health professions program at Khyber Medical University, Peshawar in 2022. One-on-one semi-structured Interviews were conducted via WhatsApp/ZOOM, transcribed by Otter AI, coded on NVivo & analyzed using Braun/Clarke's Thematic Analysis. RESULTS: Three themes of challenges faced by teachers of postgraduate blended learning programs were constructed namely (1) Skills, such as (i) digital, (ii) instructional, and (iii) online class management, and (2) Administrative barriers in terms of (iv) resources (iv) training, and (3) Faculty resistance. CONCLUSION: This study provides profound insights into the daunting challenges that postgraduate blended learning program teachers encounter in terms of skills, administrative barriers, and faculty resistance. These findings offer a valuable opportunity for program directors to identify the critical requirements of these faculties in their pursuit of effective teaching and learning, ultimately transforming the landscape of blended education. This study emphasizes the need for ongoing faculty development and institutional support to address the identified challenges and improve the quality of postgraduate blended-learning programs.

Listening effort, fatigue, and streamed voice quality during online university courses.

Understanding the impact of listening effort (LE) and fatigue has become increasingly crucial in optimizing the learning experience with the growing prevalence of online classrooms as a mode of instruction. The purpose of this study was to investigate the LE, fatigue, and voice quality experienced by students during online and face-to-face class sessions. A total of 110 participants with an average age of 20.76 (range 18-28) comprising first year undergraduate students in Speech and Language Therapy and Audiology programs in Turkey, rated their LE during the 2022-2023 spring semester using the Listening Effort Screening Questionnaire (LESQ) and assessed their fatigue with the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20). Voice quality of lecturers was assessed using smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPPS) measurements. Data were collected from both online and face-to-face sessions. The results revealed that participants reported increased LE and fatigue during online sessions compared to face-to-face sessions and the differences were statistically significant. Correlation analysis showed significant relationships (p < 0.05) between audio-video streaming quality and LE-related items in the LESQ, as well as MFI sub-scales and total scores. The findings revealed a relationship between an increased preference for face-to-face classrooms and higher levels of LE and fatigue, emphasizing the significance of these factors in shaping the learning experience. CPPS measurements indicated a dysphonic voice quality during online classroom audio streaming. These findings highlight the challenges of online classes in terms of increased LE, fatigue, and voice quality issues. Understanding these factors is crucial for improving online instruction and student experience.

Cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the online learning climate scale for Chilean university students.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly changed university teaching and learning formats, leading to a significant increase in online learning. Consequently, the crisis has facilitated the potential development of this educational modality. However, researchers need adapted and validated instruments to assess the online learning climate in universities. Aim: This study aimed to adapt and psychometrically validate the Online Learning Climate Scale (OLCS) for Chilean university students. Method: Quantitative research was conducted with a non-experimental and cross-sectional, design executed in two phases: the first was oriented to the cultural adaptation of the instrument, and the second was focused on analyzing its psychometric properties in a sample of 491 university students. Results: A translated and culturally adapted version was obtained, composed of 15 items distributed in a factorial structure composed of four dimensions that showed excellent adjustment to the data [χ2 (84) = 189.628; p < 0.001; CFI = 0.979; TLI = 0.973; RMSEA = 0.051 (IC90% 0.044-0.059); SRMR = 0.028]; internal consistency was estimated through Cronbach's alpha and ranged between 0.892 and 0.955, and strict invariance between men and women was achieved. Discussion: The Online Learning Climate Scale (OLCS) is a valid and reliable measure for measuring the online learning climate within the Chilean higher education context so that it can be used both in research and in monitoring management programs in educational environments.

Comparison of Blended Learning With Traditional Dermatology Learning for Medical Students: Prospective Evaluation Study.

BACKGROUND: Novel internet-based applications and associated technologies have influenced all aspects of society, ranging from commerce and business to entertainment and health care, and education is no exception. In this context, this study was designed to evaluate the impact of a dermatology e-learning program on the academic performance of medical students in dermatology. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to develop a dermatology blended-learning course for undergraduate medical students, evaluate the knowledge gained by students exposed to this course, and compare the results to those of traditional teaching methods. METHODS: In this prospective study, we evaluated the performance of fourth-semester medical students at the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil. Students who had been in their second year of the medical course in 2019 were considered the control group, while students in their second year in 2020 were considered the blended or hybrid group. The first group attended traditional classes, using printed material (books and handouts), while the second group used our web-based course and e-book as a supplement in a hybrid web-plus-traditional fashion. Neither participants nor evaluators were blinded. The students in both groups were subjected to the same pre- and postcourse face-to-face, multiple-choice, paper-based evaluations, and we compared their performances. The content of the classes was the same for both groups. All didactic activities were developed by a team of certified dermatologists and professors from the university. RESULTS: A total of 129 students were selected and divided into 2 groups: the control group (n=57) and the hybrid group (n=72). The precourse tests did not indicate any difference between the control group (mean score 2.74, SD 1.25) and the hybrid group (mean score 3.2, SD 1.22 SD; P>.05). The hybrid group had better final-term grades (mean 8.18, SD 1.26) than the traditional group (mean 7.11, SD 1.04). This difference was statistically significant (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study explores pedagogical possibilities in the field of dermatology teaching for medical school students. The results suggest that the performance of undergraduate students who attended the course with additional e-learning material was superior when compared to the performance of those who participated in the traditional course alone.

Translating a value-based framework for resilient e-learning impact in post COVID-19 times: Research-based Evidence from Higher Education in Kuwait.

The covid-19 pandemic has changed people's daily lives and behaviors all across the world and has impacted practically every element of human existence. The introduction of remote education systems and the move toward online learning have had some of the most significant effects. The on-site operations of educational institutions, such as schools, colleges, and universities, have had to be suspended in order to stop the virus' spread. In order to effectively disseminate instructional material and guarantee the unbroken progression of students' academic endeavors, educators have been forced to look for novel approaches. The study used the Value-Based Adoption Model (VAM) as a conceptual framework to look into the factors that affected Kuwait's e-learning outcomes in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic. 382 students at Kuwaiti universities and colleges were the source of quantitative data collection. The findings revealed that peer interaction emerged as the most influential factor in shaping outcomes within the educational context of Kuwait, while instructors and course design factors were not significant. Using the VAM, this study investigated the impact of several factors on students' e-learning results during times of crisis. The research expands the existing knowledge base in the field on this subject and suggests developing a well-organized online learning crisis approach. The main contribution of this work is summarized on (i) An integrated framework for the quality of the e-learning experience in universities in post-covid-19 times and (ii) A resilient higher education institutional learning strategy model in post-covid-19 times. The findings of this paper can be generalizable to other Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries such as Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Oman. This is due to the shared cultural traditions and values, along with similar educational systems among these nations.