Exploring the Potential of Undergraduate Radiology Education in the Virtual World Second Life with First-cycle and Second-cycle Medical Students

Rationale and Objectives: Virtual worlds have a remarkable potential for effective teaching and learning, providing immersive, realistic, and engaging online events. Previous studies have explored online education of health professionals in Second Life (SL), the most widely used virtual world, but none of the previous learning experiences were related to radiology. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential use of SL for undergraduate radiology education and the involvement of students in SL learning activities. Materials and Methods: We delivered a 4-week voluntary undergraduate radiology education program in SL, based on synchronous sessions and asynchronous tasks, with two modalities: introduction to basic radiology for first-cycle (first- to third-year) students and case-based clinical radiology for second-cycle (fourth- to sixth-year) students. Participants completed an evaluation questionnaire about the experiences after the learning program. Results: Forty-six students (20 first-cycle and 26 second-cycle) participated in this study. They found the contents of the course appropriate (mean >= 4.53/5), the initiative interesting, and the environment attractive (mean >= 4.32/5), and they were willing to participate in future SL experiences (mean >= 4.63/5). All students highly rated the organization, the content, the benefit to their medical education, and the professor (mean >= 9.05/10). Conclusion: Online radiology education using SL is feasible and well received by medical students of all year groups. The students participated and engaged in this activity very positively and rated the experience highly. The potential of using SL for radiology education includes promising expectations regarding collaborative learning and gamification.