Design, implementation, and evaluation of a learning web application for oral and maxillofacial pathology

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Medical Informatics
• Pathology

Background:

• Pathology education presents challenges for many dental students.
• Novel educational methods are gaining global attention for improving learning.
• Developing engaging digital tools is crucial for modern medical training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and evaluate an innovative web-based application for learning oral and maxillofacial pathology.
• To assess the impact of the application on dental students' knowledge acquisition.
• To measure student satisfaction with the new educational technology.

Main Methods:

• A web application (PathoGAME) was developed for oral pathology education.
• 112 junior dental students participated in an experimental study.
• Knowledge was assessed via midterm and final exams, comparing application users to non-users; satisfaction was surveyed.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in scores was observed in the midterm exam between application users and non-users.
• A significant improvement in scores for application-related questions was found in the final exam for users (P=0.03).
• Students reported high satisfaction with the oral pathology learning application.

Conclusions:

• The developed application is a beneficial tool for enhancing dental students' understanding of pathology.
• Novel educational methods like this application are effective and feasible for pathology training.
• High user satisfaction validates the application's potential in dental education.