BACKGROUD: The search for new pedagogical tools is unremitting in every phase of the history of Mankind. The Information Technology has come to join the collection of resources that educators can rely on. METHODS: The purpose of this task was to develop a computer educational program, with multimedia resources, and review its efficiency as a teaching aid for students in their second year of Medical School. This was a double-blind, randomized, prospective trial. An educational interactive multimedia program on Basic Videosurgery Techniques was developed for this research. Twelve students were selected to take part in the experiment and randomly divided into two groups of six. Group I students were instructed to individually use the multimedia simulator for 60 minutes, while Group II students were invited to watch a one-hour theoretical class with Data-show as a teaching aid. Group I were also asked to carry out, through a questionnaire, a subjective validation of the program. RESULTS: he Mann- Whitney test was used for the statistics analyses . 16.7% of the students in Group I performed 6 of the procedures correctly , 50.0% got 9 procedures 33.3% performed 10 procedures correctly, with an average score of 9.2 + 0.72 correct answers, whereas in Group II, 50% of the students performed 9 procedures and 50.0% performed 10 procedures correctly, with an average score of 9.5 + 0.55 correct answers. Statically, there was no significant differences between groups regarding the number of correct answers (p=0.423), but as for the subjective evolution about the multimedia program, 83.0% agreed that the program can be easily handled; 83.4% found the program nice to use; 50.0% agreed they had an immediate feedback; 100% declared the program educational and reassured their intention to have access to programs like that for other subjects. Finally, 50,0% disagree that the program proved itself can replace the teacher. CONCLUSION: It was reckoned that the educational multimedia program proved itself effective in the learning of basic videosurgery techniques for the students in their second year of medical school but that the students agree that such programs are not enough to replace the teacher.
Education, medical; Educational technology; Education, distance; Medical illustration; Multimedia; Pneumoperitoneum, artificial; Laparoscopy
