Table 1.

Description of the digital modalities.

Digital education modality	Working definitions/description
Offline computer-based digital education (offline digital education)	An intervention that requires no internet or local area network connection and can be delivered through media including CD-ROM, external hard disc, and universal serial bus stick [17].
Online computer-based digital education (online digital education)	An intervention that requires the use of a “Transmission Control Protocol” and an “Internet Protocol” as standards for learning activities. Alternatively, these may be referred to as being “online,” “Web-based,” or “on a network” [18].
Serious gaming and gamification interventions	A competitive activity in which students set educational goals intended to promote knowledge acquisition. The games may either be designed to promote learning or the development of cognitive skills, or take the form of simulations that allow learners to practice their skills in a virtual environment [31].
Massive open online course	An online course that is designed for participation of large numbers of geographically dispersed students [28].
Virtual learning environment	An environment that is based on a certain pedagogical model, incorporates or implies one or more didactic objectives, provides users with experiences they would otherwise not be able to experience in the physical world, and rebounds specific learning outcomes [30].
Virtual reality	A computer-generated representation of a real or artificial environment that can be interacted with by external entities, allowing for a first-person active-learning experience through immersion [19].
Virtual patient	“Interactive computer simulations of real-life clinical scenarios for the purpose of medical training, education, or assessment” [16].
Digital psychomotor skills trainers	An intervention in which digital technologies are utilized to train skills belonging to the psychomotor domain; mental and motor activities are required to execute a manual task [29]. Examples include high-fidelity mannequins; virtual reality using probes; and laparoscopy, otolaryngoscopy, endoscopy, ureteroscopy, cystoscopy simulators, or robotic surgery [32].
Mobile digital education (m-learning)	“Learning across multiple contexts, through social and content interactions, using personal electronic devices” [33].