Exploring how medical students learn with the help of a digital presentation: a qualitative study

• Published in: BMC medical education 2019-06, Vol.19 (1), p.210-210, Article 210
• Main Authors: Hyll, Mary, Schvarcz, Robert, Manninen, Katri
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activity programs (Education); Adult; Antibiotics; Attitude of Health Personnel; Bacteria; Behavioral Objectives; Blended learning; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive Processes; College students; Communicable diseases; Computer-Assisted Instruction; Constructivism (Learning); Content analysis; Conventional Instruction; Cooperative Learning; Curricula; Distance learning; E-learning; Education; Education, Medical; Educational aspects; Electronic Learning; Female; Higher education; Humans; In Person Learning; Internet; Interviews; Interviews as Topic; Knowledge; Learning; Learning Activities; Learning management systems; Lecture Method; Male; Management Systems; Medical education; Medical personnel training; Medical student; Medical students; Medication Therapy Management - education; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Methods; Minicourses; Multimedia; Multimedia Instruction; Online education; Online instruction; Pedagogy; Presentation graphics software; Presentation software; Public speaking; Qualitative content analysis; Qualitative Research; Self Efficacy; Student Attitudes; Student Evaluation; Students; Students, Medical; Teachers; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Technology application; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1472-6920; 1472-6920
• DOI: 10.1186/s12909-019-1569-z

The web-based presentation software Prezi was used to create a digital presentation in order to facilitate antibiotic knowledge in an undergraduate course on infectious diseases in the Karolinska Institutet Medical Programme. It was unclear how the students used this in their learning, and there is a lack of research on using Prezi presentations in higher education, as well as on learner-content interaction in blended learning in general. A qualitative study design was used for an in-depth exploration of the students' experiences of using the presentation in their studies. Students were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Two main themes emerged from the analysis. Firstly, the students experienced that they own their learning: the presentation provided flexibility in studying and increased engagement in the learning process. Secondly, the presentation was part of a superficial learning process: students saw it as a complement to other educational activities, but expressed that there was an absence of pedagogical encounters which prevented the information in the presentation to be placed in a larger context. The Prezi presentation when used as an e-learning tool was a useful part of and a complement to blended learning in medical education but cannot replace face-to-face learning situations, especially not when the content of the course is complex, such as in the case of antibiotics. The learning objectives should be connected to a learning theory and made explicit for the students. Students should receive instructions and support during the course on how to use new e-learning tools. Continuous pedagogical interaction with feedback and reflection between students, teachers, and patients should be provided to enhance deep learning.