Abstract
Mobile devices have become pervasive within our society. From telecommunications to social media to professional networking platforms, mobile devices are considered a necessity by their users. With the rapid pace of technology innovation and the general evolution of medicine, it would be expected that digital learning platforms, including mobile devices, have also entered the field of medical education. The literature supports the use of mobile devices and medical mobile applications, as a supplement to traditional educational modalities, facilitating access to online medical textbooks, webcasts/podcasts, and online asynchronous classroom. These technologies have the potential of enabling learner-centered and situational learning. However, despite reported benefits there are still concerns that mobile applications focus on lower levels of learning, such as knowledge attainment, with little benefit towards higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, such as critical thinking. Additionally, only a small percentage of the mobile applications are regulated or accredited by governmental organizations or medical associations, which underscores the concerns regarding content quality and acceptance of its use in medical education. To address these concerns, the following paper will review and highlight the benefits and risks of mobile devices and medical applications as educational tools in medical education

Keywords
mobile apps, education, smartphones

Cite this paper
Christie Kim, Debating the Role of Smartphones and Mobile Applications in Medical Education , SCIREA Journal of Sociology. Volume 4, Issue 3, June 2020 | PP. 86-102.

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