Abstract
Objective: This study assessed the immediate impact in terms of learning of the dento-maxillomandibular radiographic anatomy in intraoral periapical radiographs after entire replacement of the method of classroom learning by the distance learning using the Moodle platform. Material and Methods: The teaching of this subject by traditional educational setting in classroom was made until the first semester of 2011, “A class” (AC), using radiographic slabs from duplicated films. In the second semester of 2011, “B class” (BC), these radiographic slabs were digitalized, creating the Moodle e-course about dento-maxillomandibular anatomy in intraoral radiographs for distance learning. The impact was assessed by comparison of scores of students from two distinct classes, AC (N=60) and BC (N=62), after application of a similar test with all content of the topic of dento-maxillomandibular anatomy, using T-Student unpaired test (?=0.05). A voluntary and unidentified questionnaire with 12 questions, developed in Google Docs spreadsheets, was used to evaluate the acceptance of students for this e-course. Results: No significant differences (p>0.05) were observed in scores of the students from two classes. Among other questions, all students of BC who completed the questionnaire had interest in content of the available material in e-course, and their satisfaction level on a scale from 0 to 10 had a mean of 8.47 (SD=1.69). Conclusion: The method of distance learning of this subject using the Moodle platform can be utilized with same educational results as of those obtained from a traditional educational setting.
Highlights
The dental radiology tradition of the filmbased radiography has been renovated by use of digital images
The traditional classroom in A class” (AC) was entirely replaced by the e-learning in B class” (BC), without any in-person face-to-face instruction available to students and without any change in the content of the material for study of both classes (AC and BC)
Immediate impact of this new educational methodology was evaluated by comparison of scores of students in a similar test from two distinct classes
Summary
The dental radiology tradition of the filmbased radiography has been renovated by use of digital images. The digital image has gained strength mainly as a result of its high degree of dynamism, which enables computer-mediated manipulations to improve quality of specific diagnosis, and high degree of versatility, which enables an internet-mediated communication. As both systems have shown similar accuracy in clinical practice diagnosis, in several clinical and educational contexts digital images have been prioritized [1]. Medicine and dentistry teaching has been going through a renovation from the traditional didactic system to an approach whereby students take a more active role in their learning In this context, Internetmediated education is becoming a frequently used tool, and e-learning is gaining more and more popularity. This form of asynchronous distance learning provides institutions and faculties with the ability to present course content to students at a place and time of their choosing [2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
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