REFLECTION

I must admit that the e-learning module gave me a deeper understanding of its role in medical education and how to use technology to facilitate learning and assessment. It also gave me the opportunity to create an e-learning intervention prototype for clinical skills acquisition in the Simulation Centre. The resources and articles provided in the e-learning module as well as the ADDIE instructional model were very useful and contributed towards the creation of the prototype.

I found the module very useful and especially its application in my context. I am confident that the e-learning intervention created will contribute to improving upon teaching and learning in the Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre and the University of Ghana Medical School at large.

My e-learning prototype

There are so many clinical skills taught at the Simulation Center, however, my prototype is focused on final year medical students rotation in Anesthesiology where the students are required to acquire basic resuscitation skills in the Simulation Center. This prototype will serve as a pilot intervention for the rest of the clinical skills taught at the Simulation Center.

In the Anesthesiology rotation, final year medical students are taught basic resuscitation skills only once in the Simulation Center and are required to practise on their own thereafter. It has been observed that students do not return to practise soon after they have been taught and because they wait after a long time before they practise, it is possible that they might forget some of the steps in the procedure. This poses a lot pressure on the only facilitator available at the Simulation Center as students tend to be taught all over again.

This prototype will make use of Wikispaces where video demonstrations and procedures on resuscitation skills would be uploaded. All the students would have to watch the video to practise basic resuscitation skills when they return to practise in the Simulation Center. This will be a compulsory academic exercise as part of the Anesthesiology rotation, therefore students would be giving a slot on the time table for this activity. They would have to make comments on the video by writing their reflection on the process of acquiring the skills to encourage deep understanding of the learning activity. This intervention would supplement students  learning in resuscitation skills and 5% mark of the formative assessment would be allocated to student participation and constructive reflection activities.  

A need analysis through focus group discussion with the final year students revealed student excitement about the intervention. The Simulation Center has a Wifi internet access to enable this intervention. The only challenge is that they need to be introduced to the use of Wikispace although it is user friendly i believe they will get around it once they are introduced.

Critical reflections on the benefits of ICT in education by Sonia Livingstone 2012

The article provides a critical reflection on the benefits of ICT in education; it has outlined challenges of ICT provision in learning environments at school and at home. It discusses the present state of ICT provision, with the focus on British schools. The article noted that with government policies in recent years to provide internet access for every children and every school, with industry supporting diverse digital education initiatives, and with families gaining internet access at home, much rides on the claim that digital technologies will be as important in the 21st century. The article also discussed how traditional learning outcome could be enhanced as well as the impediments to establishing the benefits of ICT in education. However, this quote in the article got me thinking,

“Yeah, it’s IT, that’s what it’s called, and you go, you have about ten computers in a big computer room and you work in groups to do like stuff on the computer. They let you go on the internet but it has to be educational stuff you look up and all that. That’s boring but we don’t listen to that and we look up what we want when the teacher’s not looking. (Angie, 9)”

However according to Wellington (2004, p. 33) as referenced in the article, claimed that there are ‘inherent difficulties in evaluating the effect of any learning intervention and attributed it to the cause-effect relationships in education. These difficulties are here to stay.’ In addition, the article identified 3 problems to take notes.

1.      The problem with the literature being conceptual and methodological

2.      The problem with policy-related and practical

3.      The problem of Intriguing

The article identified various studies that indicated that increased internet use raised subsequent achievement in reading; though not in mathematics high-achieving children get more from gaining internet access than low-achieving children.

Another study found that home access to a computer and/or the internet is positively associated with levels of educational attainment at both KS3 and KS4. Further analysis by these researchers showed that internet access plays a greater role than computer access although, as the researchers also caution.

Nonetheless, the findings do suggest that the lesser likelihood of home access to a computer or, especially, the internet among teenagers from poorer families may contribute to the explanation of why they tend to make less progress from KS3 to KS4.

This paper examines these two issues, asking, first, does the evidence support the claim that ICT enhances learning and, second, what is meant by learning, and how are expectations of learning changing?

In conclusion, Schooling in the digital age is a complex, compromised and often contradictory affair […but] this is not to say technology cannot act as a focus for improvement. (Selwyn, 2011, p. 136)

Livingstone distinguishes three forms of critique relevant to grand claims made for the new technologies, asking in essence; what’s really going on, how can this be explained, and how could things be otherwise.

Critical reflections on the benefits of ICT in education by Sonia Livingstone 2012

The article provides a critical reflection on the benefits of ICT in education; it has outlined challenges of ICT provision in learning environments at school and at home. It discusses the present state of ICT provision, with the focus on British schools. The article noted that with government policies in recent years to provide internet access for every children and every school, with industry supporting diverse digital education initiatives, and with families gaining internet access at home, much rides on the claim that digital technologies will be as important in the 21st century. The article also discussed how traditional learning outcome could be enhanced as well as the impediments to establishing the benefits of ICT in education. However, this quote in the article got me thinking,

“Yeah, it’s IT, that’s what it’s called, and you go, you have about ten computers in a big computer room and you work in groups to do like stuff on the computer. They let you go on the internet but it has to be educational stuff you look up and all that. That’s boring but we don’t listen to that and we look up what we want when the teacher’s not looking. (Angie, 9)”

However according to Wellington (2004, p. 33) as referenced in the article, claimed that there are ‘inherent difficulties in evaluating the effect of any learning intervention and attributed it to the cause-effect relationships in education. These difficulties are here to stay.’ In addition, the article identified 3 problems to take notes.

1.      The problem with the literature being conceptual and methodological

2.      The problem with policy-related and practical

3.      The problem of Intriguing

The article identified various studies that indicated that increased internet use raised subsequent achievement in reading; though not in mathematics high-achieving children get more from gaining internet access than low-achieving children.

Another study found that home access to a computer and/or the internet is positively associated with levels of educational attainment at both KS3 and KS4. Further analysis by these researchers showed that internet access plays a greater role than computer access although, as the researchers also caution.

Nonetheless, the findings do suggest that the lesser likelihood of home access to a computer or, especially, the internet among teenagers from poorer families may contribute to the explanation of why they tend to make less progress from KS3 to KS4.

This paper examines these two issues, asking, first, does the evidence support the claim that ICT enhances learning and, second, what is meant by learning, and how are expectations of learning changing?

In conclusion, Schooling in the digital age is a complex, compromised and often contradictory affair […but] this is not to say technology cannot act as a focus for improvement. (Selwyn, 2011, p. 136)

Livingstone distinguishes three forms of critique relevant to grand claims made for the new technologies, asking in essence; what’s really going on, how can this be explained, and how could things be otherwise.

Summary of the article: "A Lesson in Listening: Is the student voice heard in the rush to incorporate technology in health professions education? Keiller & Inglis-Jassiem 2015

The objective for the study was to utilize videos and blogging in a PBL physiotherapy module to enhance students engagement with content of problem based cases.
A group of third-year physiotherapy students were trained on how to access and utilize a university based blogging platform for discussion of case content and for post study reflections. The students were provided with video cameras to record the practical skills component of the PBL case and uploaded onto a learning management system. However, a need analysis and engagement questionnaire was completed by the students before and after the training session.

The results from the FGD's indicated that the technology used in the study was inappropriate for the population, students lacked skills with regards to the technology chosen. For the intervention aspect, students assessed the videos but none of the students assessed the blog because they were unfamiliar with the practice of blogging.

Students perceived the videos of clinical skills as essential for their learning but ultimately, expected that lecturers generate and provide access to the videos.  
The article recommended that students should be involved in the selection of technological devices, method of sharing and the availability of recorded techniques.

This article has given me an insight that involving my students in the selection of the appropriate e-learning technology is very essential in designing my e-learning prototype. Therefore this study is applicable within the context of the clinical skills and simulation centre.

My expectations for the e-learning module

1. I look forward to an exciting learning experience where I could use information & communication technology (ICT) to facilitate the acquisition of clinical skills in the simulation centre.
2. To develop my digital literacy skills required to succeed in my profession in the 21st century.
3. My e-le-learning intervention will increase access to learning opportunities for all students and encourage self managed learning.

My e-learning module intervention

How about designing a wikispace or utube playlist with directives for students learning clinical skills in the Simulation Centre to guide them through Self-Directed Learning without a facilitator?