Computer-assisted exam revision by pharmacy students

Abstract

Objectives: Various versions of a computer program were developed and evaluated between 1994 and 1997 to assist first year students independently revise for a final examination. With the ongoing upgrade of hardware at the Victorian College of Pharmacy over this period, the software was piloted on stand-alone machines followed by extensive use in a networked environment (N) and finally on disk (D) to enable home use. Study Procedure: Improved versions of the software were implemented over the four years. Each group of students that was exposed to the software was surveyed by questionnaire between one to two months after release. Data on program use was collected for both 1995 and 1996 networked versions. Results: Students were asked to rate various aspects of the program. High or very high ratings were given for the objectives of each version: N[1995] (68-92%); N[1996] (66- 94%) and D (79-98%). The programs were rated better or much better than paper-based exams: N[1995] (69-91%); N[1996] (77-90%) and D (58- 93%). The number of program features were increased with each new version and most students rated them as useful or very useful. Conclusions: Overall, students responded very positively to this program as a mode of independent revision. The limitation of the campus computer access (15 computers to serve all students) was greatly reduced when the program was available on floppy disk. We believe that the wide range of program features increased the value and attraction of this mode for self-testing. (author abstract)