Using the Virtual World of Second Life in Veterinary Medicine: Student and Faculty Perceptions

Training Scientific Communication Skills on Medical Imaging within the Virtual World Second Life: Perception of Biomedical Engineering Students

Second Life is a multi-user virtual world platform which enables online learning through immersive activities. This study evaluates the perception of third-year biomedical engineering students about learning activities complementary to a biomedical imaging course carried out within Second Life and focused on training in the public presentation of scientific content to their peers. Between 2015 and 2017, students gave oral presentations on medical imaging topics selected from the proposals of their classmates. Participants were invited to complete an evaluation questionnaire. In the three years of the study, 133 students enrolled in the course (48, 46, and 39 consecutively), and 97 of them delivered the questionnaire (48%, 83%, and 92%, consecutively). Attendance at the sessions ranged between 88% and 44%. The students positively value the experiences, especially the teacher, the educational content, and the virtual island environment, with mean scores greater than or equal to 8.4, 7.7, and 7.7, respectively, on a 1-10-point scale. Overall, they valued Second Life as an attractive and suitable environment for their training in science communication skills, in which they gain self-confidence and are less afraid of speaking in public. Second Life enables students to present scientific content effectively to their peers, receiving hands-on training in the tasks of collecting, organizing, and presenting data, with the benefits of remote access, collaborative work, and social interaction.

Game-Based Learning in Virtual Worlds: A Multiuser Online Game for Medical Undergraduate Radiology Education within Second Life

Game-based learning can have a positive impact on medical education, and virtual worlds have great potential for supporting immersive online games. It is necessary to reinforce current medical students' knowledge about radiological anatomy and radiological signs. To meet this need, the objectives of this study were: to design a competition-based game in the virtual world, Second Life and to analyze the students' perceptions of Second Life and the game, as well as to analyze the medium-term retention of knowledge and the potential impact on the final grades. Ninety out of 197 (45.6%) third-year medical students voluntarily participated in an online game based on self-guided presentations and multiple-choice tests over six 6-day stages. Participants and non-participants were invited to perform an evaluation questionnaire about the experience and a post-exposure knowledge test. Participants rated the experience with mean scores equal to or higher than 8.1 on a 10-point scale, highlighting the professor (9.5 ± 1.1; mean ± SD) and the virtual environment (8.9 ± 1.1). Participants had better results in the post-exposure test than non-participants (59.0 ± 13.5 versus 45.3 ± 11.5; P < 0.001) and a lower percentage of answers left blank (6.7 ± 8.4 versus 13.1 ± 12.9; P = 0.014). Competitive game-based learning within Second Life is an effective and well-accepted means of teaching core radiological anatomy and radiological signs content to medical students. The higher medium-term outcomes obtained by participants may indicate effective learning with the game. Additionally, valuable positive perceptions about the game, the educational contents, and the potential benefit for their education were discovered among non-participants.

Medical Student Education for Abdominal Radiographs in a 3D Virtual Classroom Versus Traditional Classroom: A Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to compare the effectiveness of practical radiology learning by medical students in a 3D virtual world versus the real world. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Two hundred fifteen 3rd-year medical students were randomized into two groups to attend the same workshop on abdominal radiography interpretation in a virtual world classroom (VW group) and in real life (RL group). Pre- and post-training knowledge tests consisting of 12 multiple choice questions were performed at the beginning of the workshop and 2 months later. RESULTS. Fifty-four of 107 and five of 108 students refused to attend their respective group, resulting in the participation of 53 students (VW group) and 103 students (RL group) in this study. No significant differences were found between groups in the tests taken before (VW group, mean [± SD], 4.5 ± 1.8 points; RL group, 4.0 ± 1.3 points) and after (VW group, 6.2 ± 1.2; RL group, 6.0 ± 1.7 points) training. CONCLUSION. Radiology education in a 3D virtual classroom fosters participatory learning and results in similar acquisition of interpretive skills as a traditional face-to-face classroom. Virtual worlds allow the performance of online activities to learn interpretive skills with guaranteed success in learning similar to that of conventional activities. Additionally, the relative lack of identity in the virtual workshops makes students less afraid to speak and more participatory.