Undergraduate medical students' perceptions of an interactive and collaborative cloud-based learning strategy: survey at a single institution.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-5-2026

Publication Title

BMC medical education

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In most health professions education programs, didactic lectures remain the most common teaching modality. There is a need for synchronous interactive instructional methods that require little student preparation, promote directed-independent learning and high-order cognition, while increasing feedback and teamwork. We have recently created a Cloud-based learning (CL) educational tool that uses the conceptual Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) theoretical framework, together with generative learning theory. Using student surveys, the aim of this study is to determine students’ perception of CL instruction compared to other common practices in medical education, including Team-Based Learning (TBL), Flipped Classroom (FC), and Didactic Lectures (DL).

METHODS: Student perception surveys were used to contrast responses regarding these instruction methods in terms of satisfaction, student preparation time, teamwork, collaboration, and formative feedback received. The survey was administered to preclinical medical students from a single undergraduate medical education institution in the United States over the four years of instruction and participants consented to participate in the survey. Kruskal-Wallis test was employed to assess whether there are statistically significant differences in the medians of student experiences across these instructional methods. Dunn’s pairwise test was used to determine statistical significance between group medians.

RESULTS: Over the four years of instruction (

CONCLUSIONS: Despite the benefits of CL—such as improved student preparedness, increased feedback, and a collaborative learning environment—students from our single institution expressed a stronger preference for TBL and DL. Compared with existing teaching methods, CL incorporates unique characteristics that allow students to create their own study tools with reduced preparation time, strong feedback, and opportunities for collaboration; therefore, CL may be considered a viable alternative educational strategy. However, these findings arise from a student-satisfaction survey conducted at a single site, with a very small sample size and only in reference to one course. As such, the results should be interpreted with caution and may not be generalizable to other settings or disciplines.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-026-08640-x.

Volume

26

Issue

1

First Page

391

DOI

10.1186/s12909-026-08640-x

ISSN

1472-6920

PubMed ID

41645196

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