Digital Literacy in Medical Education: A Global Course with Gamification
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Abstract
Background
Digital literacy is becoming crucial in medical education as the number of e-patients and medical resources are exponentially growing even in social media. Preparing medical students for practicing medicine today not only requires clinical skills, but young doctors also have to face the huge number of medical resources and patients seeking health-related information online. In order to investigate whether the online literacy of medical students can be improved in the medical curriculum, we launched the first university elective credit course at the University of Debrecen, Medical School and Health Science Center focusing on how medical students can and should use the world wide web in 2008. The global format of this course was launched in March, 2012 with 16 related topics covering medical blogs, the advantages and disadvantages of using Facebook or Wikipedia, virtual worlds and mobile applications, among others. The material was made available on http://thecourse.webicina.com.
Methods
Each topic has a flash Prezi.com formatted presentation; a hand-out with further reading and sources; a section for feedback/comments; and a section for the test. 1 test includes 25 questions about that specific topic, users have 30 seconds per question, and has to succeed with 80% in order to finish the test and get the relevant badge. After getting all the badges, they receive a PDF certification proving that they finished the course. Participants completed a survey about the course. The surveys aimed to determine how their attitude and knowledge of Web 2.0 and medicine changed during the education and whether this format is suitable for teaching digital literacy in medical education.
Results
Based on the results, students' understanding of definitions such as Web 2.0, Medicine 2.0 or e-patients improved. Their attitude related to the possible dangers of the growing popularity of world wide web also changed as they learnt through practical examples and case presentations how to avoid privacy issues and how to meet the special needs of e-patients.
Conclusions
Such a course in the structure of the basic medical curriculum can improve the knowledge of medical students about the world wide web in terms of medicine and healthcare and might help them meet the expectations of e-patients. The global format is also suitable for educating students and medical professionals about digital literacy.
Digital literacy is becoming crucial in medical education as the number of e-patients and medical resources are exponentially growing even in social media. Preparing medical students for practicing medicine today not only requires clinical skills, but young doctors also have to face the huge number of medical resources and patients seeking health-related information online. In order to investigate whether the online literacy of medical students can be improved in the medical curriculum, we launched the first university elective credit course at the University of Debrecen, Medical School and Health Science Center focusing on how medical students can and should use the world wide web in 2008. The global format of this course was launched in March, 2012 with 16 related topics covering medical blogs, the advantages and disadvantages of using Facebook or Wikipedia, virtual worlds and mobile applications, among others. The material was made available on http://thecourse.webicina.com.
Methods
Each topic has a flash Prezi.com formatted presentation; a hand-out with further reading and sources; a section for feedback/comments; and a section for the test. 1 test includes 25 questions about that specific topic, users have 30 seconds per question, and has to succeed with 80% in order to finish the test and get the relevant badge. After getting all the badges, they receive a PDF certification proving that they finished the course. Participants completed a survey about the course. The surveys aimed to determine how their attitude and knowledge of Web 2.0 and medicine changed during the education and whether this format is suitable for teaching digital literacy in medical education.
Results
Based on the results, students' understanding of definitions such as Web 2.0, Medicine 2.0 or e-patients improved. Their attitude related to the possible dangers of the growing popularity of world wide web also changed as they learnt through practical examples and case presentations how to avoid privacy issues and how to meet the special needs of e-patients.
Conclusions
Such a course in the structure of the basic medical curriculum can improve the knowledge of medical students about the world wide web in terms of medicine and healthcare and might help them meet the expectations of e-patients. The global format is also suitable for educating students and medical professionals about digital literacy.
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