Computers and internet in dental education system of Kerala, South India: A multicentre study

Abstract

Computers and internet have exerted a tremendous effect on dental education programs all over the world. A multicenter study was done to assess trends in computer and internet usage among the dental students and faculty members across the South Indian state, Kerala. A total of 347 subjects participated in the study. All participants were highly competent with the use of computers and internet. 72.3% of the study subjects preferred hard copy textbooks to PDF format books. 81.3% of the study subjects thought that internet was a useful adjunct to dental education. 73.8% of the study subjects opined that computers and internet could never be a replacement to conventional classroom teaching. Efforts should be made to provide greater infrastructure with regard to computers and internet such as Wi-Fi, free, unlimited internet access to all students and faculty members.