Photo Credit: H. Dunlap;  From The Little Lame Prince and His Travelling Cloak by D. Mulock  (WikimediaCommons)

The International Centre for Oral-Systemic Health at the University of Manitoba (UM) is currently developing a curriculum: Oral-Systemic Health Education for Non-Dental Healthcare Providers (UM, 2015). It is my job to take the educational modules developed by our experts and convert them into an online format.

In terms of educational technology, my experience is limited to the use of our LMS, Desire 2 Learn (D2L) and our presentation software, PowerPoint with the Articulate Studio add-on. In terms of multimedia, I am quite confident using voice-editing software but I have only a beginner’s skill in video-editing. I am a very late adopter of smartphone technology, having purchased my first (used) android phone less than one year ago. Personally, I hate telephones, however, since most healthcare professionals use mobile devices, I felt it necessary to become familiar with this technology. I have to say that it is a wonderful luxury having access to the internet wherever I go – that is, when I remember to keep the little thing charged!

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards (2008) talk about the importance of designing ‘digital age’ learning experiences. At this point, I think our team is able to produce good quality technology-enriched learning modules. However, I have real trouble meeting the third ISTE Standard: “Model digital age work and learning” (p.1). I do not feel fluent in current educational technology, so I am unable to model or facilitate the effective use of “emerging digital tools” (p. 2) as ISTE suggests. I sincerely hope that by the end of this course, I have a good working knowledge of a range of different learning technologies.

Nel, Dreyer, and Carstens (2010) indicate that the primary criteria that should be used in the selection of educational technology is whether or not it supports learner-centred educational principles. Specifically, they propose using principles much like those outlined by Chickering and Ehrmann (1996) which advocate for active and collaborative learning. Our courses provide some opportunity for students to actively engage with the content and then reflect on their current practice. However, there is no opportunity for collaborative learning. Our courses are ongoing, so students can take them whenever they wish; unfortunately, this means that they are not part of a class cohort and so we cannot guarantee them anyone with whom they can learn. Regardless of this obstacle, I hope to become conversant in the available community and collaboration tools that could be implemented in future renditions of our courses. For example, next term, we will have a class of Family Medicine residents taking one of our online modules within D2L. So as I learn about collaboration tools in this course, I hope to find ways of implementing them within the module that the residents will be taking so that they can share ideas about how to apply what they have learned within their community practice settings.

Bates (2014) makes an adjustment to his previously developed framework ‘SECTIONS’ (Bates & Poole, 2003, as cited in Bates, 2014) by replacing the meaning of ‘N’ from ‘novelty’ to ‘networking’ (p. 298). If I had to choose only one of his framework subjects to concentrate on this term, it would be this one. The only way our learners are actually going to be able to make real changes to patient care is if they have a way to collaborate in the field. At present, we are providing state-of-the-art scientific knowledge on oral-systemic health. However, the real game changer will be if we can give them the tools they need to implement this knowledge. We already provide plenty of open-source educational resources. However, what they need more than anything is a network. I need to learn how healthcare providers are currently networking with each other, what tools they currently have available and whether or not I can piggy-back on the existing tools or if we need to create new ones. I don’t think I will come to an easy answer to this by the end of this course, but I plan to focus on learning about current social media tools and their application in education.

This week, I plan to start by watching how our class uses Twitter. It is a platform that does not come naturally to me. However, I know that it is one used by many professionals. In addition, I will be looking at how Facebook is used in healthcare. I use it regularly to connect with family members, but I have never used it professionally. However, I do know that medical students use it frequently as a way of networking with their colleagues and sharing information.

References:

Bates, T. (2014). Teaching in digital age http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/ (Chapter 8 on SECTIONS framework)

Chickering, A. W., & Ehrmann, S., C. (1996). Implementing the seven principles: Technology as lever. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), 3-6. Retrieved from http://www.aahea.org/articles/sevenprinciples.htm

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). 2008. Standards for teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-teachers

Nel, C., Dreyer, C., & Carstens, W. A. M. (2010). Educational technologies: A classification and evaluation. Tydskrif vir letterkunde, 35(4), 238-258. Retrieved from http://www.ajol.info/index.php/tvl/article/download/53794/42346

University of Manitoba. (2015). International Centre for Oral-Systemic Health. Retrieved from http://umanitoba.ca/icosh/