e-Learning for the medical team: the present and future of ERS Learning Resources

Does E-learning Facilitate Medical Education in Pediatric Neurology?

BACKGROUND

E-learning has become commonplace in medical education. Incorporation of multimedia, clinical cases, and interactive elements has increased its attractiveness over textbooks. Although there has been an expansion of e-learning in medicine, the feasibility of e-learning in pediatric neurology is unclear. This study evaluates knowledge acquisition and satisfaction using pediatric neurology e-learning compared to conventional learning.

METHODS

Residents of Canadian pediatrics, neurology, and pediatric neurology programs and medical students from Queens University, Western University, and the University of Ottawa were invited to participate. Learners were randomly assigned two review papers and two ebrain modules in a four-topic crossover design. Participants completed pre-tests, experience surveys, and post-tests. We calculated the median change in score from pre-test to post-test and constructed a mixed-effects model to determine the effect of variables on post-test scores.

RESULTS

In total, 119 individuals participated (53 medical students; 66 residents). Ebrain had a larger positive change than review papers in post-test score from pre-test score for the pediatric stroke learning topic but a smaller positive change for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, childhood absence epilepsy, and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Learning topics showed statistical relationship to post-test scores (p = 0.04). Depending on topic, 57-92% (N = 59-66) of respondents favored e-learning over review article learning.

CONCLUSIONS

Ebrain users scored higher on post-tests than review paper users. However, the effect is small and it is unclear if it is educationally meaningful. Although the difference in scores may not be substantially different, most learners preferred e-learning. Future projects should focus on improving the quality and efficacy of e-learning modules.

Perception and experience of academic Jordanian ophthalmologists with E-Learning for undergraduate course during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background

Electronic-learning (e-Learning) is a form of education that utilizes information and communications technology to access online teaching and learning. This study aims to evaluate the e-Learning experience among Jordanian academic ophthalmologists during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Material and methods

A cross-sectional survey was applied by using a questionnaire that was distributed among 23 academic ophthalmologists working at 6 medical schools in Jordan during the lockdown. The questionnaire included questions about the ophthalmologists' experience with e-Learning, advantages and disadvantages of e-Learning, interactions of medical students for the e-Learning and the expectations of e-Learning for the future.

Results

A total of 22 out of 23 academic ophthalmologists responded. Flexibility of e-Learning to time and place was a major advantage (95.5%), whereas lack of skills was the main obstacle for e-Learning (77.3%). Nineteen participants (86.4%) were not satisfied with e-Learning as the sole method for undergraduate teaching. To improve the original on-campus two-week ophthalmology course, 12 (54.5%) suggested integrating e-Learning into the curriculum, 3 (13.6%) preferred extending the period of training, and 7 (31.8%) reported that their tight schedule does not allow for more tasks.

Conclusion

The experience of e-Learning was positive. Most believed that e-Learning would have a prominent role in the future of medical education and proposed blended learning programs.

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The coronavirus pandemic has impacted medical education globally.

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E-Learning was not commonly used for medical education before COVID -19.

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E-Learning acceptance for undergraduate ophthalmology teaching in Jordanian universities was described in this study.

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E-Learning has a Promising future in medical education development.