How to Succeed at E–learning

A basic guide to getting the best from e–learning for medical students, teachers and all healthcare professionals With undergraduate and postgraduate curricula, and continuing medical education increasingly delivered and supported by electronic means, it is vital that both learners and teachers develop the specific skills that are essential to successful e–learning. Based on the expert author team’s experience in e–learning, this concise guide is accessible to any novice and with examples of technology in use, it supplies a basic grounding in using technology to learn, teach, and conduct research. How to Succeed at E–learning answers the needs of all healthcare professionals either starting or continuing their studies but not knowing where to begin with e–learning. It is a valuable guide for learners in undergraduate and postgraduate medicine as well as related health professionals and essential for teachers of medicine who are beginning to transfer from print to electronic teaching and need to understand effective methods of presentation.

Acknowledgements ix Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Overview of the book 1 1.2 Basic issues 1 1.3 Challenges as drivers 2 1.4 The start of technology in learning 2 Reference 4 Chapter 2: E–learning . . . what is it? 5 2.1 Definitions 5 2.2 Advantages of e–learning 24 References 26 Chapter 3: Evidence e–learning works 29 3.1 Systematic reviews 29 3.2 Examples of subject–specific studies (categorised by profession) 33 3.3 Summary of findings 36 3.4 Conclusion 37 References 37 Chapter 4: Using e–learning to teach 41 4.1 Requirement 42 4.2 Exploration 54 4.3 The course 63 4.4 The assessment 66 4.5 Choosing a platform 67 4.6 Summary 68 References 68 Chapter 5: Access to e–learning 71 5.1 The basics: files and folders 71 5.2 Security 72 5.3 The book and the browser 73 5.4 Collaborative research 76 References 80 Chapter 6: Examples of technology in use 83 6.1 A Taste of Medicine 83 6.2 Examples of innovative e–learning from developing countries 85 6.3 Examples from developed countries 92 References 93 Chapter 7: E–learning qualifications 95 7.1 What to look for in an online course 96 7.2 Clinical courses 98 7.3 Leadership courses 106 7.4 Management courses 109 7.5 General information on internationally available online MBAs 113 7.6 Mentoring courses 114 7.7 Legal courses 117 References 120 Chapter 8: Research 123 8.1 Just in time just enough and on the move 123 8.2 What is virtual reality (VR)? 124 8.3 Virtual reality systems in medicine 125 8.4 VR in obstetrics and gynaecology 125 8.5 Life–size patient simulators 127 8.6 Other simulation examples 128 8.7 Whole–heart modelling 129 8.8 Telling stories: understanding real–life genetics 129 8.9 Second Life VR 129 References 133 Chapter 9: Looking towards the future 135 9.1 The recent past 135 9.2 Why is ‘computing power’ important and how is it defined? 137 9.3 Past trends informing future trends 137 9.4 Experiments involving neurosurgical implants 139 9.5 Ongoing development in mobile technology 140 9.6 Summary 141 References 141 Chapter 10: Conclusion 143 Index 147