Assessment and evaluation of online education and virtual simulation technology in dental education: a cross-sectional survey

Abstract Background The global outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led medical universities in China to conduct online teaching. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a blended learning approach that combines online teaching and virtual reality technology in dental education and to evaluate the acceptance of the blended learning approach among dental teachers and students. Methods The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist was followed in this study. A total of 157 students’ perspectives on online and virtual reality technology education and 54 teachers’ opinions on online teaching were collected via questionnaires. Additionally, 101 students in the 2015-year group received the traditional teaching method (TT group), while 97 students in the 2017-year group received blended learning combining online teaching and virtual reality technology (BL group). The graduation examination results of students in the two groups were compared. Results The questionnaire results showed that most students were satisfied with the online course and the virtual simulation platform teaching, while teachers held conservative and neutral attitudes toward online teaching. Although the theoretical score of the BL group on the final exam was greater than that of the TT group, there was no significant difference between the two groups ( P = 0.805). The skill operation score of the BL group on the final exam was significantly lower than that of the TT group ( P = 0.004). The overall score of the BL group was lower than that of the TT group ( P = 0.018), but the difference was not statistically significant ( P = 0.112). Conclusions The blended learning approach combining online teaching and virtual reality technology plays a positive role in students’ learning and is useful and effective in dental education.