The ubiquity of the internet and computer-based technologies has an increasing
impact on higher education and the way students access information for learning.
Moreover, there is a paucity of information about the quantitative and
qualitative use of learning media by the current student generation. In this
study we systematically analyzed the use of digital and non-digital learning
resources by undergraduate medical students. Daily online surveys and
semi-structured interviews were conducted with a cohort of 338 third year medical
students enrolled in a general pharmacology course. Our data demonstrate a
predominant use of digital over non-digital learning resources (69 ± 7% vs. 31 ±
7%; p < 0.01) by students. Most used media for learning were lecture slides (26.8
± 3.0%), apps (22.0 ± 3.7%) and personal notes (15.5 ± 2.7%), followed by
textbooks (> 300 pages) (10.6 ± 3.3%), internet search (7.9 ± 1.6%) and
e-learning cases (7.6 ± 3.0%). When comparing learning media use of teaching vs.
pre-exam self-study periods, textbooks were used significantly less during
self-study (-55%; p < 0.01), while exam questions (+334%; p < 0.01) and
e-learning cases (+176%; p < 0.01) were utilized more. Taken together, our study
revealed a high prevalence and acceptance of digital learning resources by
undergraduate medical students, in particular mobile applications.