The availability of open-access videos offered by dental schools

Abstract

Background: The Internet has become an established learning tool in dental education where students can access online videos on a range of dental subjects. However, finding reliable peer-reviewed content is not straightforward.

Aim: To evaluate the video content offered by UK and Republic of Ireland (RoI) Dental Schools on their YouTube channels and public websites.

Methods: Free videos offered on UK and RoI Dental schools websites and YouTube channels were watched and set according to its purpose, as educational or non-educational. The number of views, length, category and date of publication were analysed.

Results: A total of 627 videos offered by dental courses were evaluated. Videos were available on 83% of the websites, but only 9% was educational content. Dental courses YouTube channels received more than 2.3 million views, but less than 5% of the material offered is educational. Instructional videos found on the websites (3.2 min) were shorter than those found on YouTube (8.5 min) (P = .03). The majority of the videos, provided by Universities, were not educational and focused on promoting the dental courses. Most websites have demonstrated a password-protected area where quality content may be offered.

Conclusion: Students wishing to watch instructional videos will find limited educational content provided by UK and RoI dental courses. Therefore, they are likely to access course-related material elsewhere on the Internet that may not be necessarily peer-reviewed.

Keywords: complimentary content; online learning; teaching.