Dear all
I have been reading your blogs with great interest and marvelling at your creativity and grasp of the e-learning world! Most impressive I must tell you!! I'm not great at commenting on your posts yet (in the real world I'm also a better listener than talker) besides that, I am at a loss for words due to lagging behind slightly!
Here in the skills lab, I've been running around like a headless chicken trying to get all my ducks in a row for a course I have designed (with a lot of input from others) and finally implemented yesterday as part of my research. I still feel a bit like a zombie!
But, now there's time for a breather and I can focus on e-learning until the 10th of August. I've had some time to play around a bit with i-spring and a colleague has given me access to programmes such as Camtasia studio,Viewlet builder, -cam and -quiz. The Viewlet range seems to be less appropriate for my purposes at a quick glance, but i-spring and possibly Camtasia has functions I should be able to use.
Will keep you updated!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
I have (eventually!) decided on an e-learning project which follows on from a previous project launched at the beginning of 2010 for the MBChB III programme. I've mentioned this before, but if you missed it...during this project a learning resource was developed consisting of clinical skill video clips combined with appropriate theoretical components of the clinical skills taught in the Clinical Skills Centre (CSC). This learning resource was made available to students on Web CT and is accessible from the university network. The second stage of the project entails the development of a similar resource for 4th year medical students. I will focus my attention on completing one learning package, e.g. the insertion of an intercostal drainage device. The New England Journal of Medicine has an example of this, but it is not completely appropriate to our setting with regard to equipment used.
I would also like to add a discussion (collaborative learning) component ? via web CT, but not sure yet what format this will take. Possibly during their clinical rotation - when they spend time in the clinical setting?
I would also like to add a discussion (collaborative learning) component ? via web CT, but not sure yet what format this will take. Possibly during their clinical rotation - when they spend time in the clinical setting?
SUMMARY of a web paper by Gerry J Gormley, Kate Collins, Mairead Boohan, Ian C Bickle & Michael Stevenson (2009; 31: e6–e12):
Is there a place for e-learning skills? A survey of undergraduate medical students’ experiences and attitudes.
Compared to other learning domains, the clinical skills environment has been considered a challenging one for the implementation of computer assisted learning (Knutson et al. 2006). In a recent study, Gormley, Collings, Boohan, Bickle and Stevenson (2009), investigated the suitability of e-learning in this domain.
Overall, e-learning was found to positively impact students’ learning of clinical skills and it was considered comparable to other traditional methods of clinical skills teaching. More specifically, e-learning encouraged students to attend clinical attachments and to practice clinical skills on real patients; students found it useful with regard to revision and preparation for exams and to a lesser extent, for the purpose of revision before attending clinical teaching sessions. Students with these aforementioned traits, which are associated with a deep approach to learning, performed better in an objective, structured, clinical examination (OSCE) (Gravett, 2004a; Cannon & Newble 2000).
Research in the arena of learning theories and specifically the Constructivist view reveals that effective learning is further enhanced when learners have the opportunity to engage with one another in reflecting on the learning experience (Garrison & Archer, 2000). The on-line discussions, which enabled students to interact with their peers and teachers, as well as the on-line assessments, were both highly rated by participants in this study.
Learning styles is another component which plays a significant role in the degree to which students assimilate and retain new knowledge and skills. Considering that some students have a visual, others an auditory and still others a physical learning style (to name but a few), by making use of e-learning, students are afforded the opportunity to experience an increased number of new learning mediums. Clinical skills, such as procedural or technical skills as well as physical examination skills, are, by nature, visually intensive subjects. It is therefore not surprising that the results of this study indicate that the students who valued on-line videos and images the most performed better in the OSCE.
The results of this study and others on a similar topic, suggest that the delivery of a blended course, with access to e-learning, will enhance the overall learning experience of students (Childs, Blenkninopp, Hall & Walton, 2005; Ravenscroft, Tait & Hughs, 1998).
Compared to other learning domains, the clinical skills environment has been considered a challenging one for the implementation of computer assisted learning (Knutson et al. 2006). In a recent study, Gormley, Collings, Boohan, Bickle and Stevenson (2009), investigated the suitability of e-learning in this domain.
Overall, e-learning was found to positively impact students’ learning of clinical skills and it was considered comparable to other traditional methods of clinical skills teaching. More specifically, e-learning encouraged students to attend clinical attachments and to practice clinical skills on real patients; students found it useful with regard to revision and preparation for exams and to a lesser extent, for the purpose of revision before attending clinical teaching sessions. Students with these aforementioned traits, which are associated with a deep approach to learning, performed better in an objective, structured, clinical examination (OSCE) (Gravett, 2004a; Cannon & Newble 2000).
Research in the arena of learning theories and specifically the Constructivist view reveals that effective learning is further enhanced when learners have the opportunity to engage with one another in reflecting on the learning experience (Garrison & Archer, 2000). The on-line discussions, which enabled students to interact with their peers and teachers, as well as the on-line assessments, were both highly rated by participants in this study.
Learning styles is another component which plays a significant role in the degree to which students assimilate and retain new knowledge and skills. Considering that some students have a visual, others an auditory and still others a physical learning style (to name but a few), by making use of e-learning, students are afforded the opportunity to experience an increased number of new learning mediums. Clinical skills, such as procedural or technical skills as well as physical examination skills, are, by nature, visually intensive subjects. It is therefore not surprising that the results of this study indicate that the students who valued on-line videos and images the most performed better in the OSCE.
The results of this study and others on a similar topic, suggest that the delivery of a blended course, with access to e-learning, will enhance the overall learning experience of students (Childs, Blenkninopp, Hall & Walton, 2005; Ravenscroft, Tait & Hughs, 1998).
Monday, July 12, 2010
Thanks for all the encouragement - I need all of it! I seem to be suffering from a severe bout of writer's blog! :-(
One week has passed and I am still clueless as how to incorporate e-learning into my clinical skills teaching environment! (Any bright ideas are very welcome!)
I've done some reading, "googling", visited some sites and blogs, but my creative juices seemed to have dried up completely!
But alas all is not lost, a light glimmering in the darkness should appear any minute soon or at least by the end of the day....
We have just updated a video resource project which gives students access to clips and a limited amount of theory of all the clinical skills taught in the skills lab in the third year (MBChB). Not sure if there is a further component which I could add to this current project?? Or maybe there's something new I could do. Not skilled enough to create interactive learning material...Ah well, we'll think of something.
Enjoy the day - keep warm!
One week has passed and I am still clueless as how to incorporate e-learning into my clinical skills teaching environment! (Any bright ideas are very welcome!)
I've done some reading, "googling", visited some sites and blogs, but my creative juices seemed to have dried up completely!
But alas all is not lost, a light glimmering in the darkness should appear any minute soon or at least by the end of the day....
We have just updated a video resource project which gives students access to clips and a limited amount of theory of all the clinical skills taught in the skills lab in the third year (MBChB). Not sure if there is a further component which I could add to this current project?? Or maybe there's something new I could do. Not skilled enough to create interactive learning material...Ah well, we'll think of something.
Enjoy the day - keep warm!
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