AUGUST 2009 SUMMARY

The concept of introducing or expanding online learning in medical education stimulated a good discussion. Some of our readers described their experience with online learning as boring, painful, and passive, while others described their experiences as interactive, satisfying and effective. How do you account for the disparity of experience and opinion? One reader suggested that the question was phrased too simply. Like most questions in medicine and medical education, the answer usually begins with "it depends". Our readers thought that "it depended" on the purpose of the instruction, the learning style and motivation of the students, the skill of the teacher and the ability of the technology used to create interaction. One reader thought that the generation of the student cohort might also influence the effectiveness of the instruction. Neil, on September 2 (see comments) really did a nice job of addressing the complexity of the question He concluded, as did others, that a blend of online and face-to-face methods may be the best approach. For more information see link below:

http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf