STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS OF A MULTIMEDIA COMPUTER-AIDED-INSTRUCTION RESOURCE IN HISTOLOGY

Objective. To develop an interactive multimedia-based computer-aided i nstruction (CAI) programme, to determine its educational worth and eff icacy in a multicultural academic environment and to evaluate its usag e by students with differing levels of computer literacy. Design. A pr ospective descriptive study evaluating pre- and post-module testing, s tudent usage tracking and a questionnaire survey. Setting. University of Natal Medical School. Participants. Thirty-four volunteers from the class of 125 second-year M.B. Ch.B, students who participated in the CAI study; 13 of these were not computer-literate. Intervention. The s tudy group used the CAI module for 2 weeks as part of the course. Main outcome measures. Post-test scoring and evaluation of questionnaire r esponses. Results. Results of pre- and post-tests show that CAI users' scores were slightly lower on pre-testing (22.1% v. 23.2%), while the ir post-test scores were higher (65.6% v. 60.7%), Lack of computer lit eracy did not restrict or hinder students in their use of the programm e. Responses to a questionnaire completed by all CAI users indicate co nsensus that the programme helped the students to learn (94%), that it provided important basic knowledge (88%) and that it was a helpful le arning experience (88%). All but 1 student wished to have more program mes like this available in histology. Conclusions. The CAI programme r educed the time spent by students in the histology microscopy laborato ry and did not negatively affect their marks in post-course evaluation . The concept of multimedia-based CAI in medical education was positiv ely received by the students who participated.