Abstract
BackgroundUse of podcasts has several advantages in medical education. Podcasts can be of different types based on their length: short (1–5 min), moderate (6–15 min) and long (>15 min) duration. Short-duration podcasts are unique since they can deliver high-yield information in a short time. The perceptions of medical students towards short-duration podcasts are not well understood and this study aimed to analyze the same. An exploratory analysis of students’ podcast usage and performance in summative assessments was also undertaken.MethodsFirst-year medical students (N = 94) participated in the study. Eight audiovisual podcasts, each ≤3 min duration (3-MinuTe Lessons; 3MTLs) were developed for two topics in biochemistry. The podcasts were made available for students after didactic lectures on the topics. Feedback was collected from students about their perceptions to 3MTLs using a self-reported questionnaire. The scores of students in summative assessments were compared based on their usage of 3MTLs.ResultsFeedback revealed that 3MTLs were well received by students as a useful and convenient supplementary tool. Students used 3MTLs for topic review, to get an overview, as well as for quick revision and felt that 3MTLs were helpful in improving their understanding of the topic, clarify concepts and focus on important points and in turn, in preparation for assessments. A significant proportion (49%) felt that 3-min duration was optimal while, an equal proportion suggested an increase in the duration to 5 min with more information. The overall mean scores in assessments were not different between students based on 3MTLs usage. The pairwise comparisons revealed better scores amongst students who used 3MTLs for both topics.ConclusionOverall, short-duration podcasts were perceived by students as useful supplementary learning tools that aided them for revision and in preparation for assessments.
Highlights
Use of podcasts has several advantages in medical education
The usage statistics from the e-learning portal indicated that at the end of the study period, the total numbers of views and visitors for 3-minute lesson (3MTL) were 477 and 308, respectively (Table 1)
Students felt that 3MTLs were helpful in improving their understanding of the topic, clarify concepts and focus on important points
Summary
Use of podcasts has several advantages in medical education. Podcasts can be of different types based on their length: short (1–5 min), moderate (6–15 min) and long (>15 min) duration. The perceptions of medical students towards short-duration podcasts are not well understood and this study aimed to analyze the same. Biochemistry is considered by medical students as a difficult subject to study, while it’s an challenging task for the teachers to teach [1]. Educators need to come up with strategies to assist self-learning [3]. In this context, podcasts can be a useful educational technology that can cater to learners with auditory, visual or mixed learning preferences [4]. Since podcasts can be used anywhere, anytime, they enable students to learn at their pace [5, 10]
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