Document Type : Original Article
Authors
- . Venkitachalam Ramanarayanan 1
- . Vineetha Karuveettil 1
- . Aneesa Ayoob 1
- . Rakesh Suresh 2
- . Balagopal Varma 3
- . Chandrashekar Janakiram 1
1 Department of Public Health Dentistry, Amrita School of Dentistry Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS, Kochi, Kerala, India
2 Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Amrita School of Dentistry Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS, Kochi, Kerala, India
3 Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Amrita School of Dentistry Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS, Kochi, Kerala, India
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Transformation of education to virtual mode during COVID‑19 pandemic was a
major challenge for a clinical specialty like dentistry.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sequential explanatory mixed method was adopted with quantitative
dominant design. A self‑reported questionnaire on attitude and perceptions toward online learning
were distributed among dental undergraduate students. The qualitative arm explored perceptions of
online teaching among various stakeholders and thematic content analysis was performed.
RESULTS: A total of 141 responses were obtained, about 21% of them felt online classes to be
highly useful and 78% felt it was moderately useful. About 80% of the students were satisfied with
the online education. About 40% of participants felt internet connectivity was a frequent issue. The
qualitative data analysis revealed five emergent themes of lecture content and delivery, instructional
control, resource management, interaction, and evaluation exploring the perceptions of various
stakeholders toward online learning and provided several insights.
CONCLUSION: Though online education cannot be compared to traditional education in a clinical
specialty like dentistry, it does have its advantages and a portion of student learning can be conducted
through this mode.
Keywords
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