Author: Maria Toro-Troconis

Best paper award won at the #design4learning conference

Dr Maria Toro-Troconis, Mr Ashish Hemani and Dr Kevin Murphy won best paper award at the #design4learning conference run by the Open University (OU) and the Higher Education Academy (HEA) on the 26 & 27 November 2014 . HIG01S0002_Logo_Primary_Blue_RGB_MV1ou-logo

Following a competitive selection the paper entitled ‘Learning Design in the 21st century. Blended Learning Design Tool (BLEnDT©) and MOOCit©’ won the best paper award.

 

The paper discussed The Blended Learning Design Tool (BLEnDT©) developed by Dr Toro-Troconis at the School of Medicine and the implementation and findings in the design of a blended learning course for the Respiratory Muscles tutorial in Year 1 of the MBBS course.

 

The Blended Learning Design Tool (BLEnDT©) introduces an instructional framework for the design of blended learning approaches identifying the learning outcomes that lend themselves to interactive self-guided online learning following an Instructionist approach and the learning outcomes that are best suited for face to face delivery or online delivery following a Constructivist/Collaborative approach.

 

BLEnDT© is currently used at the School of Medicine at Imperial College London and by the Imperial College Curriculum Development team – Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine.

 

The School of Health Sciences at City University London, the Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning at King’s College London and the University College London (UCL) are also collaborating in the use of BLEnDT©.

 

More information about BLEnDT©: http://www1.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/elearning/blendt/
#design4learning conference: http://design4learning.org.uk

#BLEnDTImperial
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Dr Maria Toro-Troconis
E-Learning Strategy and Development Manager
Faculty of Medicine

The School of Medicine Mobile Medical Education Pilot Project

The School issued iPads Mini to students in years 5 and 6 of the MBBS course at the beginning of the 2013/14 academic term.

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The key implementations introduced as part of the pilot have focused on the following areas:

iBooks

iBooks have been developed in order to standardise the delivery of course related materials for the different clinical attachments. Once the iBooks are downloaded on the iPads, they can be accessed offline. The iBooks offer a range of interactions designed by academics to make the learning experience more engaging for students. The image below shows some of the iBooks developed for years 5 and 6.

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Students can download the iBooks via the Mobile Device Management System (MDM): AirWatch Secure Content Locker provided by ICT.

Overall, the feedback received from academics and students has been very positive. They like the fact the iBooks can be accessed off-line and they provide a lot of engaging interactions.

The iBooks developed can be accessed via the iPad Project Organisation in Blackboard: http://bit.ly/1rlBKXF

Electronic submissions and signoffs

iPad_lectureElectronic submissions and signoffs have been piloted using the eForms iPad App. It allows submissions of assessments (end of attachment, DOPS, etc.) via student iPads.  The system allows clinicians to electronically sign forms online/offline and to receive an electronic copy of the submissions via email. Students also receive confirmation via email and administrators can track submissions online.

SharePoint has also been piloted for electronic submissions in years 3, 5 and 6 to accommodate open-ended questions requiring formatting as well as submitting attachments (PDF, Word documents, etc.).

In total, over 100 electronic submissions have been introduced in years 5 & 6. Feedback so far has been positive although some students have expressed preference for paper based submissions.

iCalendars

iCalendars have also been deployed for some clinical attachments (nearly 100 iCalendars), allowing students to access their calendars/timetables on their iPads and/or smartphones. Due to the positive feedback received from students on the use of iCalendars, the School has decided to implement iCalendars for all clinical attachments from January 2015.

Other Apps

We have also received positive feedback on the use of virtual clickers especially during the Pathology course. The students have also been very receptive to the use of the BMJ Best Practice App provided by the library.

The work done so far on the Mobile Medical Education Pilot Project provides evidence of the benefits in the provision of electronic submissions, iCalendars and the distribution of course and learning related materials on the students’ devices via iBooks. The digitisation of clinical related assessments (e-forms) provides a more efficient and robust mechanism to audit assessment submissions during attachments.

A Working Group will be setup to evaluate the iPad pilot and make recommendations to the School on the way forward in relation to the School’s Mobile Learning Strategy. The recommendations will be made available by February 2015.

A CPD course: ‘Creating Mobile Medical Education: Successful Implementation in Practice’ has been setup based on the experience gained during this project at the School. All the implementations carried out as part of this project will be demonstrated during the course.

Guest speakers from Manchester and Leeds Medical Schools will also present their latest developments on Mobile Medical Education. For further information about the course please visit: http://bit.ly/1AR24tQ

For further information contact us at: elearning.medicine@imperial.ac.uk

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Dr Maria Toro-Troconis
E-Learning Strategy and Development Manager
Faculty of Medicine

Faculty of Medicine Year 5 MBBS students issued iPads

There was a buzz outside the Drewe Lecture Theatre on Wednesday 5 June, as Year 5 Medical students gathered to collect their brand-new iPad Minis. Once all the iPads were handed out, Mr Martin Lupton, Deputy Director of Education, gave a welcome to the iPad pilot project followed by an introduction and demonstrations by Dr Maria Toro-Troconis, E-learning Strategy and Development Manager, and Mr Taylor Bennie, Learning Technologist.

The demonstrations were focused on all the activities the students will be able to do on their iPads, including:

  • Access to all learning materials via Blackboard Learn, being able to annotate and carry their notes wherever they go. The School has bought two apps for students: iAnnotate (which allows students to annotate documents in different formats) and Puffin, an Internet browser that allows students to render Flash content on their iPads.

  • Access to iBooks for different clinical attachments being able to record reflections.
  • Access to some sign-off forms (DOPS) on their iPads allowing clinical teachers to assess students and submit the DOPS to the Faculty Education Office electronically, keeping a record on the students’ iPads.
  • Access virtual clickers on their iPads via the Virtual G-Pad App allowing instant feedback during lectures.
  • Access to eBooks from the library.

After the demonstrations, Mr Jon Arntzen from ICT helped students set up all the iPads on the Imperial Mobile Device Management System, AirWatch, which will allow the eLearning team to push Apps to the students’ iPads, reset passcodes and wipe out all the information on any device that gets lost or stolen.

The Medical School will be also issuing iPad Minis to Year 6 MBBS students on 22nd July 2013. The pilot will run for two years finishing in 2015/16. The iPads will be returned to the Faculty of Medicine at the end of the pilot.

For further information on the iPad pilot please contact: webmaster.feo@imperial.ac.uk #iPadImperialFoM

Dr Maria Toro-Troconis
E-Learning Strategy and Development Manager
Faculty of Medicine

iPad pilot launch event at the Faculty of Medicine

iPad

The Faculty of Medicine will be piloting a project issuing iPads to students in years 5 and 6 of the MBBS course at the beginning of the 2013/14 academic term.

The main learning and teaching activities planned to be delivered on iPads are:

  • All the course learning materials will be accessed via Blackboard Learn.
  • Students on placements will be able to readily and easily access learning materials and their own notes, and be able to add reflections, etc.
  • Some sign-off forms (DOPS) will be available electronically on the iPads allowing clinical teachers to assess students and submit the DOPS to the Faculty Education Office electronically, keeping a record on the students’ iPads.
  • Students will be able to participate during lectures using virtual clickers hosted on their iPads.
  • Students will access interactive iBooks in the area of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
  • Students will be able to receive updates from different sites directly on their iPads providing a direct communication channel with clinical sites.

The iPad pilot launch event took place on 15 May 2013 .

Dr Maria Toro-Troconis
E-Learning Strategy and Development Manager
Faculty of Medicine