Perception of a Public-Sector Dental Institute Students towards the use of Google Classroom

Abstract

ABSTRACT:

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the perception in terms of attitude and practice of dental students of a public sector dental institute towards use of Google classroom during COVID lockdown.

Study design and setting: This was a cross-sectional study design where the data was collected online and was conducted in Sindh Institute of Oral Health Sciences (SIOHS).

Methodology: A questionnaire consisting of 16 items was administered online to observe the perceptions of undergraduate dental students at Sindh Institute of Oral Health Sciences, JSMU, about Google Classroom. All students enrolled in the undergraduate dentistry program were considered the study population and data was collected after informed consent. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 21

Results: With a response rate of 74%, the results showed that 54.1% of the students agreed that Google Classroom can be considered as a modern e-learning tool, 53.4% of the students considered Google Classroom as a user friendly educational platform. Around 56.8% of the students did not face any difficulty in making assignments on Goggle Classroom. About 46.6% of the students found that watching clinical videos did not improve their clinical skills.

Conclusion: This study concludes that the undergraduate dental students considered Google Classroom as a user friendly, helpful, and modern e-learning tool for academic purposes and preparation for their assessments during COVID lockdown.

Keywords: COVID -19, e-learning, Google classroom, Health education