Use of E-Learning in Education: Attitude of Medical Students of Shiraz, Iran

Author(s): Ahmad Ghanizadeh, Sharif Mosallaei, Maryam Sharifian Dorche*, Ali Sahraian, Parisa Yazdanshenas

Introduction:

This study aimed to explore the use of e-learning in medical education in

Shiraz, Iran.

Materials and Methods:

convenience sample of 300 medical students of

Shiraz University of Medical Sciences was interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The

questionnaire contained a series of questions on the demo

graph

ic characteristics, accessibility

to computer and internet, use of internet for medical education and training, familiarity with

e-learning, and the reasons for use of computer.

Results:

total of 270 participants completed

their questionnaires, 30.7% students reported familiarity with e-learning, 21.3% found e-learning

beneficial, 57.6% used internet for education, 43.4% considered e-learning useful for medical

education, and 57.9% students thought e-learning must be more prevalent in medical education.

Most of the students (78.5%) used their personal computer for e-learning, only 6.3% did not

use the computer for education.

Conclusion:

Considering the increasing role of computer and

internet in daily life, the current results indicate that the attitude of the participants towards

e-learning was positive. However, medical students have to be made aware of the advantages of

e-learning. Technological limitations were less compared to reports from the other developing

countries.

Internal Medicine and Medical Investigation Journal