Cloud-based collaboration and productivity tools to enhance self-perception and self-evaluation in senior dental students: A pilot study

Context: Web/cloud-based collaborations have been successively used in several educational and clinical settings with very satisfactory results against the traditional background. In this study, we assess the usefulness, ease of use, ease of learning and satisfaction of a cloud-based clinical progression practice record comparing to a traditional paper practice record. Methods: In this cross-sectional forty senior dental students answered a USE-Questionnaire on the traditional paper book versus a digital clinical book assembled with Google Docs. They were asked about usefulness, ease of use, ease of learning and satisfaction of both gears. Results: There were an absolute agreement in all four different dimensions, with the cloud-based digital system evidencing more advantages and preference from the users’ perspective in usefulness (from P = 0.002 to P < 0.001), ease of use (from P = 0.034 to P < 0.001), ease of learning (P < 0.001) and satisfaction (from P = 0.001 to P < 0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that a digital clinical book, using free cloud-based collaboration tools, is more useful, easier to use and learn and more satisfactory than a traditional paper recording system. Also, this cloud-based collaboration system presents characteristics that may guide future clinical research.