E-Learning in Pharmacology and Pharmacy

Embedding E-Learning in Accounting Modules: The Educators’ Perspective

The aim of the paper is to investigate the benefits and drawbacks resulting from the implementation of e-learning in accounting modules among educators. The primary source of data was a questionnaire conducted among 79 accounting lecturers, employed by the leading Polish economic universities. The results of the survey have shown that e-learning is not widely used by accounting academics in Poland. The most important benefits of the e-courses included the enhancement of efficiency and flexibility of the teaching process. The most serious difficulties were an extensive amount of work associated with designing and updating course materials and technical problems. The effectiveness of e-learning techniques in teaching accounting subjects is determined by the easiness of e-learning delivery, more regular learning process, greater development of students’ social competences during e-learning classes and a more effective process of verification of students’ progress, in comparison with traditional classes. Furthermore, the study provides evidence that lecturers, who decided to use e-learning, perceive this way of teaching as more efficient, and at the same time more demanding, in comparison to traditional classes. The paper contributes to the understanding of the use of e-learning in accounting education and offers findings that might be useful for both policymakers and practitioners.

Design it yourself (DIY): in-house instructional design for online pharmacology

Demand for e-learning courses has risen dramatically placing pressure on institutions to offer more online courses. Third party vendors now offer courses that can be embedded directly into learning management systems. When transitioning from in-class to e-learning formats, instructors must decide whether to use commercially available courses or design in-house. The objective of this study was to evaluate our transition from delivering introductory pharmacology via a purchased e-pack to an in-house designed course. A team that included an instructional designer, an education specialist and a content expert created an online course in pharmacology. Merrill's first principles of instruction were used as a guide for the design of our online course. Where appropriate, multiple forms of media were introduced to reinforce concepts. We compared grades and design strategy from a previous iteration that was delivered using a commercially available e-pack. A cost analysis was conducted to determine the institutional setup and maintenance costs of in-house course design. The mean final grade from the in-house designed course was 81.9 (0.5) % compared to 76.4 (0.5) % for the e-pack course (P < 0.001). Course evaluations were significantly improved for the in-house course compared to the e-pack. Cost-analysis demonstrated that designing a course in-house has a high initial cost ($111,180.57) but can be maintained with minimal institutional cost ($500) in future offerings. Our results demonstrate that effective courses can be designed in-house and this should be a viable option for institutions that have appropriate resources to support instructional design.