Online videos: The hidden curriculum.

INTRODUCTION: Dental undergraduates will access the Internet searching for learning materials to complement their training; however, open access content is not generally recommended by dental schools. This study aimed to evaluate how dental students are using online video content. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Students from eight Universities (Athens, Birmingham, Brescia, Cardiff, Melbourne, Paris, Sao Paulo and Valdivia) representing three continents were invited to complete a survey on their access and learning from online videos. RESULTS: International students behave similarly when studying dental content online. Of 515 respondents, 94.6% use the Internet as a learning tool. It was observed that videos are not frequently recommended during didactic lectures (9.6%). But many students (79.9%) will use YouTube for their learning which includes clinical procedures. Students will check online content before performing procedures for the first time (74.8%), to understand what was explained in class (65.9%) or read in books (59.5%), to relearn clinical techniques (64.7%) and to visualise rare procedures (49.8%). More than half of the students do not fully trust the accuracy or the reliability of online content. This does not prevent students from watching and sharing dental videos with classmates (64.4%). The content watched is not shared with teachers (23.3%) even when it contradicts what was learnt in the school (38.2%). CONCLUSION: This study concludes that students regularly integrate open access digital resources into learning portfolios but are hesitant to inform their teachers about their viewing habits. Students wish to receive critical skills on how to evaluate the material they encounter outside their traditional learning space.

Games in dental education: playing to learn or learning to play?

Learners are motivated when using games and they have been successfully introduced in many healthcare subjects such as medicine and nursing. The development of games in dentistry has not kept pace with their uptake both as a popular pastime and their implementation in other subjects. Games in the learning space have many advantages. Several scenarios can be gamified in pre-clinical and clinical practice creating an enjoyable learning experience for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. The aim of this article is to enthuse educators on the potential of games and offer practical suggestions on how to implement them in their teaching.

Fake news and dental education.

Fake news is used to spread disinformation on many subjects with the aim of distorting the truth. There has been a rise of fake news stories in dentistry such as homemade whitening products and misinformed information on how to strengthen your teeth. Such stories populate YouTube and other social media. Evidence-based dentistry does not provide all the answers, so patients and health professions readily seek out information that confirms their own views on the subject. There are tools available that may be used to verify the accuracy of such information and help to dispel fake news. The ideal way to deal with the influence of fake news is to empower individuals to publish and create an environment of 'real news'.