Student use of common online resources in a multi-campus medical school

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Background: Multi-campus medical schools can differ in medical curriculum delivery due to location specific factors, creating different learning contexts. Common online learning may reduce perceived inequities. Using a shared curriculum structure, we developed two learning resource components (topic-based learning objects and multiple-choice question banks) in Obstetrics and Gynaecology for students in our 3-campus medical school. Objective: We evaluated common learning resource use across different learning contexts. We hypothesised that students with fewer structured learning hours would make greater use of topic-based learning resources due to their perceived utility value. We also explored an alternative hypothesis; that resources more closely linked to assessment (MCQ banks) would encourage a strategic approach to learning and would be used most highly at all campuses. Methods: We assessed student opinion of the value of the resources through a cross-campus online survey, and quantified usage of the resources by analysing learning management system logs. Comparisons of response and usage patterns for the two resource components were conducted to identify if context influenced usage. Results: Survey results (RR = 70%) showed that students across campuses rated the resources as valuable. Usage logs partially supported our hypothesis that learning object usage would be highest at the campus (Campus 3) with the lowest structured learning hours in both the proportion of users (p <0.006) and frequency of access for 16 of the 26 topics (p<0.05). However, the reverse was found to be true for the question bank, with lowest usage of question banks at Campus 3 (p< 0.001). Conclusions: We interpret the results as evidence of difference in the perceived utility value of the learning resources across campuses. Clear differences in usage patterns provide evidence that different learning contexts can influence online resource use, and these contexts should be considered when evaluating the effectiveness of online learning resources.