Using YouTube to Learn Anatomy: Perspectives of Jordanian Medical Students

Abstract

Purpose. The study is aimed at exploring the popularity, impact, and usefulness of using YouTube in learning anatomy as perceived by Jordanian medical students studying at Jordan University of Science and Technology. Methods. The present work is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. First-, second-, and third-year medical students were invited to complete an anonymous questionnaire. Students’ responses were numerically coded, and the results were analyzed to reveal any statistically significant differences related to gender or level of study. Results. The results showed that 96.4% of the students used YouTube in general, 91.2% used it as a source of information, and 83.9% used YouTube as a learning tool in medical school. Further, YouTube was used by 79.1% of the students as an anatomy-learning tool. Most of these students used this platform in learning gross anatomy. The study also revealed that dissection videos were the most viewed anatomy-related content. Regarding the perceived value of YouTube as an anatomy-learning tool, the majority of the students reported that YouTube offered them useful anatomical information and enhanced their understanding, memorization, and recall of anatomical information. In addition, most of them recommended using YouTube as an anatomy-learning tool. Statistical analysis of the results revealed the presence of gender-related significant differences in students’ perspectives. Such differences were also found among students of different levels of study. Conclusion. Medical students have positive attitudes toward using YouTube in augmenting their anatomy learning. For this, educators are encouraged to adopt YouTube as an educational tool in their anatomy instruction and to create new anatomy-related YouTube videos to enhance their students’ learning.

Acceptance of YouTube as a Learning Platform during the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Moderating Effect of Subscription Status

“…Individual and environmental factors were both significant in the user's acceptance of YouTube for learning [20]. Perceived usefulness was an important factor for the anatomy students in Jordan, affecting their decisions to use YouTube as their learning resources [11]. The key conclusion from this finding was that although the critical period of Covid-19 pandemic forced more teachers and students to shift their T&L activities either in full or part, they could not ignore these three factors to guarantee the students' acceptance of online resources.…”

“…In a study among students of an English class, learning on YouTube was found to be more flexible, interesting, and interactive; thus, integrating YouTube videos from language-teaching Youtubers into T&L activities would be useful to the students [10]. Educators are also encouraged to create videos and upload them on YouTube to improve the learning experiences of their students [11].…”

“…The next section discusses the difference between subscribers and non-subscribers in their user experience of YouTube. Previous authors have reported the positive outcomes of using YouTube in various academic disciplines, such as science [2], language [10], marketing [12], and medicine [11]. However, little is known about the use of YouTube as a learning resource for accounting.…”

Designing Online Anatomy Education by the 'Debug' Guideline: COVID-19 Lessons Learnt

“…Medical students have successfully learned anatomical subjects with the help of YouTube (Mustafa et al, 2020). The author noted that students were very optimistic about using YouTube videos as they enhance understanding, memorisation, and retention of factual anatomical knowledge.…”

“…Valdez Mayo R, Coquia Adrillana C, Casil Cruz A, Andrada Fernandez Jr. D, Veasuvalingam B MedEdPublish https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2021.000046.1 Mustafa et al, 2020). Nevertheless, video tutorials on cadaveric tools or models carried out by anatomy educators can supplement students with assured material accuracy (Barry et al, 2016).…”