Distance education

Distance education

J. Grant and A. Zachariah

Before you begin …

This chapter looks different from the other chapters in this book. It is presented as a distance learning workbook. So you have the opportunity to experience distance learning, see how a distance learning course is constructed, experience different types of exercises and get feedback on your learning.

Introduction to the course

Welcome to this short course on distance learning in medicine! It consists of a workbook which should take you about 1 hour to study.

Distance learning is one of the most needed modes of medical education given the rapid changes in medical practice, the large number of doctors requiring constant updating and the need to educate in remote and rural areas.

Learning activities

You will find a number of brief exercises called learning activities. These are one of the most important parts of the course. They give you the opportunity to think about, use, apply and understand more fully the content being presented. And each gives you feedback on your responses.

Objectives

After completion of this course, you should be able to:

• Define ‘distance learning’ and consider its advantages and disadvantages

• Outline how distance education courses may be designed for clinical medicine

• Identify the media and learning experiences that can be blended into a distance learning course for medicine

• Describe the structure of a distance learning text and the design of learning activities

• Describe how students learning at a distance can receive feedback

• Describe how distance learning courses are developed

• Describe the meaning of a wrap-around course and how this may be used in medical education

• Discuss quality assurance in distance learning.

Contents

The following table will help you plan your study time.

Table 15.1

1 What is distance learning?

Let’s think about the various methods that are available to help people who are learning medicine at a distance (Tables 15.2 and 15.3).

Table 15.2

Table 15.3

Feedback. A number of people have tried the activity. They listed the following methods. Compare what you said with their list.

Printed workbooks	DVDs	Email
Learning packages	Video conferencing	Face-to-face tutorials
Guided texts	CDs	Web-based resources
Online library resources	Telephone tutorials and feedback	Computer conferencing
Telemedicine	Television	Radio programmes
Community/clinical work	Online teaching	E-learning courses
Readers and textbooks	Residential meetings/Skills labs	Student discussion groups (live, online)
Virtual and simulated environments, e.g. virtual microscope	Tutor-marked assignments and feedback	Assessments: computer-based, paper-based, practical

This activity shows that distance learning can comprise many components, blended together to make one well-planned course. The content of a distance learning course is limited only by the imagination of the teacher.

Given this, how shall we define distance learning? Grant (2008) defines ‘distance learning’ as:

Individual study of specially prepared learning materials, usually print and sometimes e-learning, supplemented by integrated learning resources, other learning experiences, including face-to-face teaching and practical experience, feedback on learning and student support.

Distance learning provides a rich, planned experience for learners, quality assured, flexible and cost effective.

Given this, you should consider the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning for medical education by trying Activity 2 (Tables 15.4 and 15.5).

Table 15.4

Activity 2	Advantages and disadvantages of distance learning in medical education	Allow 2 minutes
What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of using distance education in medical teaching? Jot down your thoughts in the following space.

Advantages	Disadvantages

Table 15.5

Advantages	Disadvantages
Makes quality-assured teaching available to all	Clinical skills development requires integrated face-to-face teaching
Is particularly useful for physicians who are working full time or have limited time available. Is an excellent method for knowledge development	Distance education courses require supervision of clinical experience and careful planning to ensure an appropriate blend of learning opportunities within limited time
Can reach out to doctors in remote locations and those who have not had the opportunity for postgraduate study	Distance learning takes initial skilled effort to design and produce
Can be cost-effective and uses teachers’ time efficiently

2 Technology and distance learning

Although many people equate e-learning and distance learning, you can see from Activity 1 that technology offers just one way of learning. It should be used when the curriculum demands it, and when it is feasible and cost-effective. Technology is simply another medium alongside all the others. The next activity asks you to think about this (Table 15.6).

Table 15.6

Feedback

You might have said that technology offers rich, interactive visual images, immediate feedback, better illustrations, student–teacher communication and a more modern feel.

But you might have noted that technology is expensive to produce, requires access to hardware, broadband and regular electricity, is not portable, requires typing skills, does not allow scribbling, highlighting and note-taking, is more difficult to flick backwards and forwards, is harder on the eyes and tends to imply entertainment rather than teaching.

Print

Print is limited in visual presentation, seems more old-fashioned, is less flexible in giving feedback and offers no interpersonal communication.

But print is cost-effective, is easily updated, is flexible to use, requires no equipment or back-up, allows note-taking and highlighting, requires no technical skills, is portable and flexible and is the most familiar medium for learning. Teachers can reach out to students who do not have regular internet. Busy practising physicians can keep the text in hand and do small activities whenever they have time.

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Tags: A Practical Guide for Medical Teachers

Dec 9, 2016 | Posted by admin in GENERAL & FAMILY MEDICINE | Comments Off

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