iPod another tool in future doctors' medical bag

It is hard to walk anywhere on the University campus without seeing iPods being used by students and non-students alike—and now the Medical School is taking advantage of the portable computer's popularity by using it as a learning tool.

Medical student Meghan Jankowski (Photo by Jason Engling, Medical School)

"Dr. iPod" is an educational program that makes it possible for medical students to review patient presentations and lectures using their iPods. This program is an example of how the Medical School uses technology to help students learn to care for patients and assume leadership roles in academic medicine and society.

"We use technology and traditional teaching to maximize students' learning," says Dr. Joe Fantone, associate dean for medical education. "We know that people have different learning styles, and that each medical student might learn in different ways and at different rates. We recognized that we needed to offer additional approaches to traditional books, lectures and visual materials, and the iPod is a good addition."

"Our goal at the Medical School's Learning Research Center is to improve the quality of learning—ultimately this insures a high quality of medical care," says Casey White, assistant dean for medical education and director of the Learning Resource Center. "Quite simply, technology tools help students learn what they need to learn. They also can help students enhance their own learning."

In late 2005 Chris Chapman, LRC media services manager, created a single video clip with general information to display the iPod's video capability, and all the staff, faculty and students who viewed it were very excited. Fantone recognized the potential of podcasting for medical education, so he asked the LRC to test it. A successful podcasting pilot ran for several months in the spring of 2006.

The Medical School learning environment is a cooperative effort with faculty to keep meeting the ever-changing demands of health care and to develop high quality medical graduates, Fantone says.

"We've set up technological options and enhancements so learning is available the way students want it, in ways that they control and that help them learn better," White adds. "As new technologies become available and as they make sense in a learning environment, we will continue to try all kinds of technology to enhance learning."

The LRC professional staff began to embrace technology tools to augment learning in 1997 when they added high-tech development stations and professional consultation to help faculty learn how to use technology. The faculty members were encouraged to explore new ways to enhance classroom presentations using the tools.

The Dr. iPod program is just one example of how the Medical School is trying new technologies to help students learn to become good doctors and develop the desire for continuous learning throughout their lives. Others include:

• Streaming video of lectures, available since 2003

• Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to instantly find the latest information about medical treatment, diagnosis, and research, a program that began as a pilot in 2001

• Computer laptops or tablet computers, required for incoming students since fall 2006, for use in digital microscopy to view histology and pathology images, as well as digital lecture videos, the learning portal, and Web-based clinical training tools (The virtual microscopy lab was developed in 2004 by Dr. Lloyd Stoolman, professor of pathology, who won a Smithsonian award.)

• Tablet computers, given to 25 students in fall 2004 as part of a pilot to determine if the technology would enhance clinical learning. This pilot was extended to first and second year medical students in fall 2006.

The LRC also is funded through a Whitaker Grant to explore the educational use of cell phones and other handheld devices. Educational video and audio that will be piloted include tutorials on heart sounds and murmurs and modules on basic pediatric care. The first round of testing will begin in July 2007.