Choice of electronic v/s printed documents by southern Chilean dental students.
Abstract
In recent decades, the use of digital texts has replaced printed documents. This has generated changes in the way texts are presented and diffused as well as the students’ choice and the way of reading materials related to medicine. While some reports have evaluated the use of digital compared to print formats, there is no evidence about dental students’ preferences. The objective of this study is to determine preferences among dental students from six universities in the south of Chile for using printed versus electronic documents. A descriptive study based on a survey which was conducted among dental students in May and June, 2013, was designed. The proposed survey was adapted for collecting general student data and preferences for using electronic or traditional printed documents. Six schools and a total of 1,022 students, with an average age of 21.4 years, participated. A 93.3% of them reported using both types of documents. However, a 59.7% preferred printed documents. Only a 9.3% read documents directly from an electronic device. Students overwhelmingly preferred using printed documents than the electronic type. It is imperative to investigate the impact of new learning technologies in Chilean dental education.
Keywords: Dentistry, dental education, electronic devices, e-learning, learning technologies.
Uso de documentos electrónicos v/s impresos por estudiantes de odontología del sur de Chile.
El uso de textos en formato digital ha reemplazado en las últimas décadas el uso de documentos impresos, generando cambios en la disposición y difusión de éstos como también en la elección de los estudiantes y la forma de lectura de materias relacionadas con la medicina. Si bien existen reportes que valoran el uso de formato digital en comparación a textos impresos, no existe evidencia de las preferencias en estudiantes de Odontología. El objetivo de este estudio es determinar la preferencia de uso de documentos en formato impreso versus electrónico en estudiantes de odontología de seis universidades del sur de Chile. Se diseñó un estudio descriptivo basado en una encuesta aplicada a estudiantes de Odontología entre mayo y junio del año 2013. Se adaptó la encuesta propuesta para ello, recolectando datos generales del estudiante, preferencia de uso de documentos electrónicos y documentos tradicionales impresos. Participaron seis escuelas, con un total de 1.022 estudiantes con un promedio de edad de 21.4 años. El 93.3% declara usar ambos tipos de documentos, sin embargo, el 59.7% prefieren el uso de documentos impresos versus documentos electrónicos. Sólo el 9.3% lee directamente los documentos desde un dispositivo electrónico. Los estudiantes prefieren mayoritariamente el uso de documentos impresos por sobre los de tipo electrónicos. Es perentorio investigar el impacto de nuevas tecnologías de aprendizaje en la educación odontológica chilena.
Palabras clave: Odontología, educación dental, dispositivos electrónicos, e-learning, tecnologías del aprendizaje.
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