Medical education is still in its infancy when it comes to use of mobile devices in the classroom. There’s no rule against the use of mobile technologies, but I can’t say that it is promoted either. Students are free to bring whatever device they see fit for their learning. I’ve seen many iPads and other tablets as well as smartphones. Some lecturers use polling through smartphone but its few and far between. In the hospital, point of care apps, medication apps, and pregnancy wheel apps are often used. Some apps are provided for free to students and residents through our library. However, these are not usually used for direct teaching purposes. It’s more for self directed learning.
At this point I guess you could say that mobile technologies are usually used to access reference materials. But could they be used for other purposes in medical education? Could it be used as a teaching device? Absolutely! We, as instructors are likely the greatest barrier to its implementation. It’s our lack of knowledge and experience regarding the use of mobile technology as a learning tool. If we were comfortable and knew that students would be more engaged and thus active in their learning, I think we would embrace it.
I don’t personally have a success story regarding the use of mobile devices in the classroom. But I know of a general surgeon at our university who started making podcasts for students and residents and these are used not only by our own students but students across the globe. Many access it with their mobile devices to help them learn during their rotation. Here’s a great article summarizing his work.
Mobile devices makes a big difference in accessibility. As mentioned by Ciampa (2013), being able to learn “anytime, anywhere” engages students, promotes self-directed and self-paced learning. I think they are a highly effective media if used correctly. The challenge is to use them in such a way that it incorporates the six aspects of successful learning systems; challenge, control, curiosity, recognition, cooperation, and competition (Ciampa, 2013). In the article, it appeared that they were using educational apps that were already developed. But what happens when you can’t find one that’s applicable? I don’t have the technical skill to make something like that nor do I have the time to learn. I would need a team to help me develop a course that uses mobile devices successfully. Does my university have the resources necessary for this? What will my time commitment be? Or is there something that’s already developed that I don’t know about? I don’t have the answers to these questions but as I make my way through this program and my career progresses as I take on more teaching responsibilities at my University, I am confident I will find them along the way.
Reference
Really interesting perspective Mo – you and Edwin are both shedding some fascinating light within the medical field! Your reflections on the lack of technology use made me think of an episode of TVO’s ‘The Agenda’ that I saw not long ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRrnVBpPLsU The host interview 2 reps from UofT to talk about how they’re revamping their Medical program to suit the needs and strengths of millenials, it’s really interesting stuff. I showed the first 5 minutes at a recent staff meeting because so much of the language they use is what we’ve been trying to implement in our private school.
I wonder if perhaps the hesitation shouldn’t be around whether or not there is an app that is tailor-made for your needs, but if already existing ones can be used as tools to reach the end-goal. So for example the professor using podcasts, or teachers recording lectures and posting them to YouTube, etc. I don’t doubt that your time is incredibly limited, but perhaps that means the best place to start is with something you already know and feel comfortable using in a new context. It definitely sounds like your school would benefit from a team for whom this was their main task, like at UofT, if it really wants to integrate technology more seriously. 🙂 Perhaps you will be part of that solution, with all you’re learning through the MET!
Kate and Mo,
Thanks for sharing that YouTube video. Very interesting discussion. Patients are living longer and dealing with more medical conditions making them more complex to treat as a clinician. Conversely, the training of health care professionals need to change as well to meet the demands of this aging population so that they receive optimal care. I still wonder whether the next generation of health care professionals/students will have the patience and attention spans required to process information and think critical to reach conclusions in the workplace. Perhaps their training/education needs to deliberately focus on teaching this way of thinking and not simply knowing what the answer is instantly.
Edwin
Thanks for the video kate! It was great to see that UofT is making changes to their program.
As for critical thinking in medical education, currently there is a big focus on problem based learning as opposed to rote memorization. They made this move several years ago, starting with McMaster. Our school has integrated these small group problem based learning into their curriculum along with lectures and longitudinal patient/clinical exposure. I think it’s a really positive move forward. Now how do we integrate more mobile tech? Or is it even necessary?
I think that it’s necessary insofar as it helps facilitate those group activities and problem-based activities that mimic clinics or realistic contexts. So as the professionals in the video said, they plan on providing students with content through videos for them to study prior to in-person clinical practice – the flipped model, essentially! Technology will be the tool through which modern forms of teaching are made possible, with patients and authentic learning at the core.