Study of the Factors Affecting on the Quality of Virtual Learning and Education from the Perspective of Dental Students of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences

Abstract Background & Aim: Nowadays the use of digital technology in dental education hasdramatically increased. The growth and development of educational models shows that it is important to change the approach of education from traditional methods to electronic methods and virtual education. We conducted the present study in aims of investigating the effective factors on the quality of virtual learning from the perspective of dental students of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences. Material and Methods:In this phenomenological qualitative study,a total of 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted until reaching the saturation point. All recorded interviews were transcribed and important phrases were extracted. MAXqda 2018 software was also used to analyze the interviews. Results: Main themes include "Advantages of face-to-face education", "Limitations of face-to-face education", "Virtual education learning methods", "Advantages of e-learning", and "Disadvantages of e-learning "," E-learning limitations and Suggestions". The main themes of "advantages and disadvantages of e-learning" and "Suggestions for improving E-learning" were emphasized because they had the highest number of sub-themes. Conclusion: According to the obtained data, the general view of virtual education was positive and despite the mentioned disadvantages, virtual education was considered effective and useful. The students' perspective also showed that the main themes of "advantages and disadvantages of e-learning" and "suggestions for its improvement" were emphasized. Reinforcement of positive point, fixing the defects can improve the virtual education