Journal List > Ewha Med J > v.42(1) > 1115464

Yoon and Shin: Growing Trend of Medical Students in Utilizing Electronic Devices for Studying

Abstract

Objectives

There is a growing trend of medical students using electronic devices for studying. This paper analyzes such trend and assesses if the utilization of devices is adequate to effectively help students to study.

Methods

Survey of total 155 medical students about the usage of the electronic devices for studying during the first year of medical school was done. The answers were matched with their exam scores in the first year.

Results

Most of students were using a device, as a learning tool and the most important purpose of it was its convenience, especially for taking notes during lectures. However, students who didn't use a device when they learned anatomy or who studied with the printouts showed a tendency of receiving better scores on exams.

Conclusion

Utilizing electronic devices for studying tends to be more convenient, but not effective for studying anatomy.

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1

Average anatomy exam score of the participants who did use or did not use a device for notetaking during the lecture. Average exam score of non-users (341.4±4.28) is higher than that of device users (325.2±3.85) by 16.22 (P=0.006). *P<0.05.

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Fig. 2

Average anatomy exam score of the participants who completely or partially or never use a device for reviewing the lecture. Average exam score of the participants who don't use a device when reviewing the lecture is higher than the rest of the groups, showing a tendency of non-device-users receiving better exam scores on anatomy.

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Table 1

The purpose of the purchase and the reason for notetaking with a device

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Table 2

Questions related to the attitudes to using a device for learning

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Table 3

Statistics for results embryology and anatomy tests

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SD, standard deviation; SEM, standard error of mean.

Table 4

Statistics for results embryology and anatomy tests

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SD, standard deviation; SEM, standard error of mean.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Ewha Womans University Research Grant of 2018, and the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2017R1C1B1011306).

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