Evaluation of perceived satisfaction, usefulness and efficiency of virtual workshops from the perspective of faculty members and postgraduate students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Learning is an integral part of the educational system today. Although numerous studies have been performed regarding the beneficial effects of virtual training, virtual workshops have received less attention. The purpose of this study was to understand the perceived satisfaction, usefulness and efficiency of virtual workshops of postgraduate students from Tehran University of Medical Sciences. In this descriptive – comparative study, 57 faculty members and postgraduate students participated in virtual workshops. As a first step, 42 educational contents based on priority needs assessment workshops were prepared. These contents put in www.farasa.net address and participants accessed to them for three months. After three months, participant's opinions related variables using questionnaire consisted of three parts (demographic information, visual continuum of assessment of satisfaction from face to face and virtual, and 35 items to investigate the usefulness and efficacy etc) were studied. Reliability was calculated using Cronbach's alpha method (0.937). For analysis nineteenth version of analysis software (SPSS) was applied. The findings showed that there are significant difference (p < 0.000) between the satisfaction from virtual and face to face Workshops. In addition to the variables of ability used in the educational system, the efficiency of virtual methods, the designed content in the system, interactive learning activities, learning environments, ease of use, perceived value, satisfaction, usefulness, and behavioral intention of learning in range (38/0 to 90/0) showed a significant positive correlation with each other. In general, the workshop participants had positive attitudes toward the benefits of virtual workshops. In order to further satisfy the learners, it is suggested that scheduled virtual workshops were planned.