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Use of student‐centred, computer‐mediated communication to enhance the medical school curriculum
Author(s) -
Platt Mark W,
Anderson William,
Obenshain S Scott
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
medical education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1365-2923
pISSN - 0308-0110
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2923.1999.00373.x
Subject(s) - curriculum , class (philosophy) , reading (process) , medical education , variety (cybernetics) , set (abstract data type) , mathematics education , object (grammar) , medical school , computer science , computer lab , psychology , pedagogy , multimedia , medicine , artificial intelligence , political science , law , programming language
Objectives While it is clear that computers will play an important role in the study and practice of medicine their introduction into the curriculum remains controversial. Computer purchase has been made compulsory for incoming students. Design Members of the incoming class were allowed to purchase any computer and modem capable of using the communication program chosen by the school. No formal computer training was given. Students were encouraged to call for assistance or bring in their computers for configuration. The primary object of the system was for communication between the students and between students and faculty. Setting The School of Medicine of the University of New Mexico. Subjects First‐year medical students. Results The vast majority of students set up their computers and connected to the system with little assistance. At the end of the first week of studies all the students were connected. Most of the students used the system on a daily basis. The greatest interest was in discussions concerning examinations with 93% of students reading these postings. The least‐used aspect of the system was the exchange of learning issues from small group case discussions. Students also downloaded the curricular material provided but were discriminating in accessing this content. Conclusions The student use of the computer as a communication tool has been a success. Students used the system in a variety of ways and by so doing also learned the basics of computer use and maintenance. The area of faculty training is often ignored but is considered crucial to the success of such a project.