e-Learning in medical education Guide 32 Part 2: Technology, management and design

Abstract

With e-learning now part of the medical education mainstream, both educational and practical technical and informatics skills have become an essential part of the medical teacher's portfolio. The Guide is intended to help teachers develop their skills in working in the new online educational environments, and to ensure that they appreciate the wider changes and developments that accompany this 'information revolution'. The Guide is divided into two parts, of which this is the second. The first part introduced the basic concepts of e-learning, e-teaching, and e-assessment, the day-to-day issues of e-learning, looking both at theoretical concepts and practical implementation issues. This second part covers topics such as practical knowledge of the forms of technology used in e-learning, the behaviours of teachers and learners in online environments and the design of e-learning content and activities. It also deals with broader concepts of the politics and psychology of e-learning, as well as many of its ethical, legal and economical dimensions, and it ends with a review of emerging forms and directions in e-learning in medical education.