Development and evaluation of a learning management system for dental radiographic interpretation practice

Abstract

Purpose: Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) is a well-known and verified open-source learning management system(LMS) software. This study aimed to develop and evaluate an LMS for dental radiographic interpretation practice using Moodle. Materials and Methods: The last stable version of Moodle was installed on a server, and customized for dental radiology education, named e-OMFR. After the installation process, a new course was created and set according to the learning purpose and teaching situation. The e-OMFR was constructed with four parts: glossary, wiki, forum, and quiz. Among the functions of e-OMFR, the quiz function was used for radiographic interpretation practice. Third-year undergraduate students were divided into two groups. The experimental group utilized e-OMFR for dental radiographic interpretation practice. The control group completed the radiology practice session as usual, whereas for the experimental group, 10% of the interpretation practice time was replaced by online practice for dental caries diagnosis on panoramic radiographs using e-OMFR. The students in the experimental group practiced diagnosing caries in more than 100 panoramic radiographs through online quizzes. The effectiveness of e-OMFR was evaluated by comparing the final examination scores of the two groups. The e-OMFR was surveyed by administering a questionnaire to students in the experimental group. Results: The process of installing and customizing Moodle proved to be feasible and cost-effective. Moodle was suitable for developing an LMS for dental radiographic interpretation practice. The students in the experimental group achieved higher scores in their final examination than those in the control group on the 10 questions related to interpreting dental caries on panoramic radiographs (p<0.05). On the other hand, no significant difference was detected between the groups on the other 50 questions and on previous examinations. Among the members of the experimental group, 54% answered that they found the system inconvenient. The main reason for the inconvenience was that there was no image enlargement or control function. Nevertheless, 27% indicated that the online quizzes were helpful for dental caries interpretation practice. Conclusion: The incorporation of e-OMFR in current teaching was shown to improve student performance. The e-OMFR would be practically applied to radiographic interpretation practice if the function is improved. The e-OMFR could be extended to continuing education for dentists.