The training of motor skills is a crucial aspect of medical education today. Serious games and haptic virtual simulations have been used in the training of surgical procedures. Otherwise, however, a combination of serious games and motor skills training is rarely used in medical education. This article presents Skills-O-Mat, an interactive serious game for training rhythmic and period motor skills. In its first application the game supports dental students being trained in alginate mixing in a blended learning course. Designed as reusable component, the game follows an effective learning design and uses constant immediate feedback to support students' learning. The effectiveness of the use of the game in learning was compared to learning in a traditional workshop using a randomized controlled trial (N = 30 test group, N = 25 control group). Participants of the evaluation were dental students aged 20 to 23 years in the 2nd year of study (40% male, 60% female; 46.7% with no experience, 50% had little experience in mixing alginate). An analysis of the results of the evaluation gives indications of the positive learning effect of the game. The game was rated a valuable instrument for teaching and developing practical skills. *We thank the Exploratory Teaching Space (ETS) for funding the project eModule Alginate interactive and this research. ETS is a platform supporting innovative teaching concepts at RWTH Aachen University, granted an award in "Wettbewerb: Exzellente Lehre" of "Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft" (Stifter, 2011;Wettbewerb, 2011).Note: The first column, Step no., introduces a reference number for the step. The second column, Step, names the learning category according to the ARCS model. A brief description of the individual activity is provided in the third column, Action.Source: Keller, 1983Keller, , 1999 Note: The first column, Phase no., gives a number for ease of referencing. The second column, Phase, gives the title of the phase of Skills-O-Mat. A brief description of the individual activity is provided in the third column, Action.

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Background Local anaesthesia plays a key role in many aspects of a dentist’s work. The required skills to perform anaesthesia successfully are acquired at university. To take advantage of the possibilities for new teaching formats, a blended learning concept for the local anaesthesia course was developed. The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of face-to-face, blended and e-learning in teaching in local anaesthesia by assessing students’ knowledge gain, performance of practical skills and satisfaction with the course. Methods All participants (n = 37) were randomly allocated into three groups. After acquiring the theoretical background in the blended learning, e-learning or lecture groups, a test to assess knowledge gain was performed. The performance of the practical skills was assessed in a small-group seminar. Student attitudes were evaluated with a questionnaire. Results The blended group showed significantly better results (mean = 17, SD =1.5) in theoretical knowledge gain than the other two groups (e-learning group: mean = 14.7, SD = 2.2; lecture group: mean = 14.8, SD =2.3). When comparing the results of the clinical skills assessment, there was no significant difference among all three groups (p > 0.017). The participants confirmed a high overall satisfaction with the course, in particular with the blended learning approach. Conclusion This study indicates that blended learning improves the learning outcome for theoretical knowledge in teaching local anaesthesia more than either face-to-face learning or e-learning alone. Furthermore, the blended learning approach is highly appreciated by the students. For acquiring practical skills, this study shows that blended learning is as effective as other teaching methods.

Background During the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the quality of surgical education experiences sudden major restrictions. Students’ presence in the operating theater and on wards is reduced to a bare minimum and face-to-face teaching is diminished. Aim of this study was therefore to evaluate alternative but feasible educational concepts, such as an online-only-platform for undergraduates. Objective A new online platform for undergraduate surgical education was implemented. A virtual curriculum for online-only education was designed. Methods A video-based online platform was designed. Following this, a cohort of medical students participating in a (voluntary) surgical course was randomized into a test and control group. Prior to conducting a written exam, students in the test group prepared using the video platform. Students in the control group prepared with standard surgical text books. Results of the exam were used to compare educational means. Results Students in the test group preparing through the video-based online platform reached significantly higher scores in the written exams (p = 0.0001) than students of the control group. A trend towards reduced preparation time that did not reach statistical significance was detectable in the test group (p = 0.090). Scores of “perceived workload” and “desire to become a surgeon” offered no differences between the groups. (p = 0.474 and 1.000). Conclusions An online-only, virtual curriculum proved feasible for surgical education in undergraduates. While blended learning concepts were applied in both groups, only the test group had access to case-based videos of surgical procedures and scored significantly better in the written exams. Thus, video-based virtual education offers a realistic alternative to face-to-face teaching or conventional text books in times of restricted access to the operating theatre.

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