eCases is a collaborative initiative with AD Instruments to build online learning opportunities in the Integrated Cases programme of Early Learning in Medicine (Years 2 and 3).
Traditionally, Integrated Cases are delivered over two weeks in two face-to-face tutorials with Independent Learning (IDL) activities competed between tutorials. eCases adopts a blended learning model, and will over time deliver the first tutorial and the IDL of selected Integrated Cases as online modules. The second tutorial will remain as face-to-face time and will draw on material from the online components.
Who was involved?
The work of developing the first eCase was completed by Steve Gallagher, Judith Swan (eCase Writers, ELM) and Mairead Fountain (Medical Education Specialist, ADI). They received HUGE support and input was from Linda Gulliver (Integrated Case Convenor), Greg Jones (Cardiovascular Module Convenor) and Grant Butt (ELM Programme Director). Lots of others in and around ELM also contributed time and expertise.
Student gains:
Feedback from students involved in testing the eCase identified a number of benefits. These included:
- enhanced content learning because of increased engagement with the eCase material;
- watching video clips of real practicing doctors carrying out a real consultation and being able to hear the language used provided learning of practice in action; and
- seeing how the professionals conduct themselves in the room including how to incorporate handwashing before commencing an examination.
The best things about developing this piece of eLearning were:
Developing strong team relationships inside and outside the university to continue the initiative.
Learning lots about the ethical challenges of using real patients on video that will be available to the world, forever.
Seeing the enthusiasm of the students for the finished eCase.
The Challenges:
Learning how to work effectively in a partnership with a commercial business.
Bringing together input from diverse departments in the Faculty of Medicine in order to deliver integrated learning content.
Meeting changing deadlines.
Negotiating the ethical concerns identified, and working with organisations to challenge their understanding of the importance of these issues.
Tools / Resources used in this initiative:
Google Docs (now Google Drive) was used with mixed success for collaborative conversations.
We used Trello for task identification and allocation; and Wrike for managing the timelines.
OwnCloud and Dropbox have been used for file sharing. A high level of concern about sharing confidential information in the cloud led to a clear protocol about what information could be shared using these tools. We are exploring Syncplicity for sharing sensitive material.