Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine whether e-learning as a new teaching concept was acceptable for second-year undergraduates and to compare attitudes and exam results of students who followed electronic compared with classroom seminars. The electronic seminars (e-seminars) were developed several months prior to start of the epidemiology course for second-year students at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade. The students who applied for e-seminars accessed their content during summer semester (February–May) 2014. E-seminars were set according to the existing topics in practical workbook and designed using Moodle, a free, open-source, personal home page web application for producing modular internet-based courses. To evaluate the motives for enrollment and satisfaction with seminars, two surveys (pre- and post-course) were administered. Students’ exam grades were registered over 4 exam sessions (June–October 2014) and compared according to seminar program. Out of 516 students in the second year, 60 (11.6 %) applied for e-seminars (mean age 21 years). Students considered the reason “It’s easier to do assignments from home” as the strongest motive to participate. When compared to classroom seminars, students in e-seminars had significantly more fun (p = 0.003), thought that e-seminars were better mode to learn epidemiology (p = 0.030) and would recommend them to other colleagues (p = 0.001). There was no significant difference in average grade received at the oral exam in epidemiology (t = 0.071, p = 0.944). E-seminars in undergraduate epidemiology course add a novel, easy-to-follow and amusing mode of learning. Based on this pilot study, e-seminars in epidemiology will be available for next generations of students, while further improvement of e-seminars could include expansion of seminar syllabus and development of discussion fora.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Lewis, K. O., Cidon, M. J., Seto, T. L., Chen, H., and Mahan, J. D., Leveraging e-learning in medical education. Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care 44(6):150–163, 2014.
Felder, E., Fauler, M., and Geiler, S., Introducing e-learning/teaching in a physiology course for medical students: acceptance by students and subjective effect on learning. Adv. Physiol. Educ. 37(4):337–342, 2013.
Duque, G., Demontiero, O., Whereat, S., Gunawardene, P., Leung, O., Webster, P., Sardinha, L., Boersma, D., and Sharma, A., Evaluation of a blended learning model in geriatric medicine: a successful learning experience for medical students. Aust J Ageing 32(2):103–109, 2013.
O’Neill, E., Stevens, N. T., Clarke, E., Cox, P., O’Malley, B., and Humphreys, H., Use of e-learning to enhance medical students’ understanding and knowledge of healthcare-associated infection prevention and control. J. Hosp. Infect. 79(4):368–370, 2011.
Chen, M. L., Su, Z. Y., Wu, T. Y., Shieh, T. Y., and Chiang, C. H., Influence of dentistry students’ e-learning satisfaction: A questionnaire survey. J. Med. Syst. 35(6):1595–1603, 2011.
Caron, R. M., Teaching epidemiology in the digital age: considerations for academicians and their students. Ann. Epidemiol. 23(9):576–579, 2013.
Win, K. T., Hassan, N. M., Bonney, A., and Iverson, D., Benefits of online health education: perception from consumers and health professionals. J. Med. Syst. 39(3):27, 2015.
Chou, H. K., Lin, I. C., Woung, L. C., and Tsai, M. T., Engagement in E-learning opportunities: an empirical study on patient education using expectation confirmation theory. J. Med. Syst. 36(3):1697–1706, 2012.
Abramson, J. H., Teaching epidemiology inside and outside the classroom. Public Health Rev. 30(1–4):339–363, 2002.
Jäger, F., Riemer, M., Abendroth, M., Sehner, S., and Harendza, S., Virtual patients: The influence of case design and teamwork on students’ perception and knowledge - a pilot study. BMC Med Educ 14:137, 2014.
Gaikwad, N., and Tankhiwale, S., Interactive E-learning module in pharmacology: A pilot project at a rural medical college in India. Perspect Med Educ 3(1):15–30, 2014.
Guarino, S., Leopardi, E., Sorrenti, S., De Antoni, E., Catania, A., and Alagaratnam, S., Internet-based versus traditional teaching and learning methods. Clin. Teach. 11(6):449–453, 2014.
Keyes, K. M., and Galea, S., Current practices in teaching introductory epidemiology: How we got here, where to go. Am. J. Epidemiol. 180(7):661–668, 2014.
Cook, D. A., Dupras, D. M., Thompson, W. G., and Pankratz, V. S., Web-based learning in residents’ continuity clinics: A randomized, controlled trial. Acad. Med. 80(1):90–97, 2005.
United Nations Serbia. European Union. World Bank Group. Serbia floods 2014. Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/press_corner/floods/20140715-serbia-rna-report.pdf.
Acknowledgments
This investigation was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (Grants No. 175042, 175046, 175087).
The authors would like to express their gratitude to Assoc. Prof. Milos Bajcetic and Dr Ivan Zaletel from the Institute of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, for providing overview of electronic courses at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade.
The authors would like to thank Assist. Prof. Bosiljka Djikanovic from the Institute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, for critically reviewing the draft version of the manuscript.
Conflict of Interest
None.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This article is part of the Topical Collection on Education & Training
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gazibara, T., Marusic, V., Maric, G. et al. Introducing E-learning in Epidemiology Course for Undergraduate Medical Students at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade: A Pilot Study. J Med Syst 39, 121 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-015-0302-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-015-0302-7