Students' attitudes towards and use of computer-assisted learning in oral radiology over a 10-year period

To compare the attitudes towards CAL of today's dental students with those 10 years ago and to assess the use of CAL over a 10-year period.

A questionnaire was given to 40 current dental students containing 15 identical questions to those asked 10 years previously. Attitudes were ranked on a scale from 1 (worst) to 5 (best). Over the entire period, 420 students (mean = 42 students/year, range 33-56) used the programs. The material consisted of interactive computer-based teaching programs on: intraoral radiography, X-ray density and sharpness, basic radiation physics, radiation biology, X-ray apparatus and a multiple choice bank. A central computer served the PCs which the students could use as they required. Each program start was recorded at the server. Due to rebuilding and change of server, no data were sampled during 7 months of 1991.

Overall, there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) between students' attitudes in 1996 and 1985. Two questions were scored significantly higher in 1996. The programs were run 12,269 times in the 10-year period. Use of the programs increased steadily whereas number of dental students/year decreased. Program runs in each year, expressed as percentage (in brackets) of total runs over the 10-year period, were: 1986 (1), '87 (8), '88 (8), '89 (11), '90 (9), '91 (3), '92 (13), '93 (13), '94 (16), '95 (18).

The favourable attitudes seen 10 years ago when CAL was initiated could not be ascribed to a Hawthorne effect as similarly or more favourable attitudes were recorded in 1996. Though not mandatory, CAL was frequently and increasingly used by dental students over the 10-year period.