Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet

Background: Smartphone-based learning, or mobile learning (m-learning), has become a popular learning-and-teaching strategy in educational environments. Blended learning combines strategies such as m-learning with conventional learning to offer continuous training, anytime and anywhere, via innovative learning activities. Objective: The main aim of this work was to examine the short-term (ie, 2-week) effects of a blended learning method using traditional materials plus a mobile app—the iPOT mobile learning app—on knowledge, motivation, mood state, and satisfaction among undergraduate students enrolled in a health science first-degree program. Methods: The study was designed as a two-armed, prospective, single-blind, randomized controlled trial. Subjects who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (ie, blended learning involving traditional lectures plus m-learning via the use of the iPOT app) or the control group (ie, traditional on-site learning). For both groups, the educational program involved 13 lessons on basic health science. The iPOT app is a hybrid, multiplatform (ie, iOS and Android) smartphone app with an interactive teacher-student interface. Outcomes were measured via multiple-choice questions (ie, knowledge), the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (ie, motivation), the Profile of Mood States scale (ie, mood state), and Likert-type questionnaires (ie, satisfaction and linguistic competence). Results: A total of 99 students were enrolled, with 49 (49%) in the intervention group and 50 (51%) in the control group. No difference was seen between the two groups in terms of theoretical knowledge gain (P=.92). However, the intervention group subjects returned significantly higher scores than the control group subjects for all postintervention assessed items via the motivation questionnaire (all P<.001). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed a significant difference in the confusion and bewilderment component in favor of the intervention group (P=.01), but only a trend toward significance in anger and hostility as well as total score. The intervention group subjects were more satisfied than the members of the control group with respect to five out of the six items evaluated: general satisfaction (P<.001), clarity of the instructions (P<.01), clarity with the use of the learning method (P<.001), enough time to complete the proposed exercises (P<.01), and improvement in the capacity to learn content (P<.001). Finally, the intervention group subjects who were frequent users of the app showed stronger motivation, as well as increased perception of greater gains in their English-language competence, than did infrequent users. Conclusions: The blended learning method led to significant improvements in motivation, mood state, and satisfaction compared to traditional teaching, and elicited statements of subjective improvement in terms of competence in English. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03335397; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03335397

Mobile learning (m-learning) has becoming very popular in education due to the rapidly advancing technology in our society. The potentials of the mobile applications should be used to enhance the education process. Few mobile applications have been designed to complement the study of physical therapy skills for physiotherapy students. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a mobile application, as a supplement to traditional learning, is useful for physiotherapy students in the acquisition of palpation and ultrasound skills in the shoulder area. Forty-nine students participated in this single-blinded, randomized controlled study. They were randomly distributed into two groups: experimental, with free access to the mobile application; and control, with access to traditional learning materials on the topic. Objective structured clinical evaluation (OSCE) and multiple-choice questionnaire (MCQ) were used to assess the educational intervention. Then, we also assessed the time taken to get a reliable ultrasound image and to localize a specific shoulder structure by palpation. There was no significant intergroup difference in the acquisition of theoretical knowledge (p = .089). Scores were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group for the majority items in the ultrasound assessment; positioning of patient (p < .001), positioning of ultrasound probe (p = 0.007), handling of ultrasound probe (p = .013) and global OSCE (p < .001) and skills in palpation of the shoulder; position of patient (p = .009), direction of palpation contact (p = .021) and global OSCE (p = .034). There were no significant differences in the time required to perform the examination between groups in ultrasound (p = .944) and palpation (p = .393). The results from the post-program survey assessing the global satisfaction with the mobile application were high (8.200 ± .767), on an 11 numeric point rating scale. These results suggest the effectiveness of an m-learning program as a complement to traditional education for developing skills in ultrasound and palpation of the shoulder region in undergraduate physiotherapy students.

Mobile and tablet apps, ubiquitous and pervasive computing, wearable computing and domotics for health.

Breast cancer survivors suffer physical impairment after oncology treatment. This impairment reduces quality of life (QoL) and increase the prevalence of handicaps associated to unhealthy lifestyle (for example, decreased aerobic capacity and strength, weight gain, and fatigue). Recent work has shown that exercise adapted to individual characteristics of patients is related to improved overall and disease-free survival. Nowadays, technological support using telerehabilitation systems is a promising strategy with great advantage of a quick and efficient contact with the health professional. It is not known the role of telerehabilitation through therapeutic exercise as a support tool to implement an active lifestyle which has been shown as an effective resource to improve fitness and reduce musculoskeletal disorders of these women.