Integrating Multimedia and Emerging Technologies to Establish an Innovative Learning Collaboration Network within the Medical School Learning Community

Donald M Voltz, MD¹, Barbara Freeman, PhD², Tim Whittingham, PhD³, and Megan Linos, MS⁴

1 Department of Anesthesiology, ,2Department of Anatomy, Case Western Reserve University & University Hospitals of Cleveland 3The School of Dentistry, Case Western Reserve University4 Instructional Technology and Academic Computing (ITAC), Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.

PURPOSE

Modern medical education is fraught with numerous challenges. Not only that the unilateral teaching style is no longer sufficient to fulfill the needs of today’s medical students, but synthesizing basic science classroom information with the ever increasing load of clinical information can be stressful. Today, emerging technology allows the potential to facilitate innovative teaching and learning in today’s medical education.

METHODS

This poster demonstrates several successful examples of integrating emerging technologies within the CWRU medical education paradigm:

 

1.       School of Medicine: Encouraging interactive classroom participation using the Audience Response System. (TurningPoint)

2.       Dental School: Engaging Problem Based Learning using the Pachyderm Authoring Tool. (The Case of the Bony Defect)

3.       Anatomical Sciences: Providing mini lectures and digital illustrations through a topic driven multimedia learning platform. (Anatomy World)

4.      Anesthesiology: Organizing course materials using the “Moodle” Technology. (AnesthesiologyU)

RESULTS
Adopting multimedia and emerging technologies in the medical education curriculum becomes an increasingly popular model. The focus has shifted from knowledge based instruction to a problem solving approach. To take this a step further, the ability to collaborate on information as well as to transmit this data along to the students adds a level of knowledge transfer not yet completely explored.
CONCLUSION
Digital learning tools have proven their effectiveness in bridging the gap between the static theory of the classroom and the dynamic nature of clinical medicine. We hope utilizing educational technology will revolutionize the process of knowledge transfer and establish a collaborative learning network within the Medical School Learning Community.