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The Use of Facebook to Support Anatomy Learning
Author(s) -
ElSherbiny Mohamed,
Eladl Mohamed Ahmed,
Abdalla Mohamed Elhassan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.568.6
Subject(s) - curriculum , likert scale , perception , context (archaeology) , psychology , medical education , scale (ratio) , human anatomy , anatomy , mathematics education , medicine , pedagogy , biology , cartography , paleontology , developmental psychology , neuroscience , geography
Background In the era of innovation in medical education, students’ learning has shifted from the conventional classroom learning to be both inside and outside the classroom. Thus, the traditional way of teaching is anatomy has changed dramatically to comply with the need of the new curricula and new generation. It is well known that the new technologies especially social media is taking part in education in general and medical education in particular. There has been little work investigating how students interact with social networks in an educational context. In this study, our aim was to investigate the students’ perception of using Facebook and an educational support in learning anatomy. The study took place during the spring semester 2015 in Almaarifa College of Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia using the Human Anatomy and Embryology Facebook Page, which was developed by an anatomist from another university. Methodology A total number of 100 specific posts from Human Anatomy and Embryology Facebook Page were selected and introduced to the students during teaching Anatomy and Embryology. These posts are well related to the running courses in year one and two (total number of students is 200). Students’ perception (N=102) regarding suitability and effectiveness of this approach was sought through a self‐administered questionnaire, using a five‐response Likert‐type scale. These quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. In addition, interviews were conducted with 10 Students to discuss how this reflects on their way of anatomy learning. Results The survey indicated that 90% agreed that these links provide opportunities to improve communication between students and staff and facilitate interaction between groups of students in ways that enhance their anatomy learning. 87% of the students agreed that the Links were an efficient tool to highlight the learning objectives. 92% of the students think that their motivation to discuss the practical classes was enhanced when they receive these links from their instructor. 85% of the students stated that this way encourage them to reflect on their learning. The majority of the students interviewed agreed that it's much better to have similar to these pages administered by their instructors. Many assumed that it is a simple way for tracking the students beyond the classroom. Some students stated that Facebook usually takes them away and waste their time. Conclusion Facebook offers opportunities for efficient communication and learning, and there are still issues worthy of consideration, such as being ingrained with entertainment, lack of direct supervision and exaggerated informational convergence.