e-Learning in Medical Physics and Engineering

Building Educational Modules with Moodle

Vassilka Tabakova

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9780429792809
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Informatik
• Subtopic: Datenverarbeitung

The need for qualified specialists to work with and apply sophisticated technology in contemporary medicine is rapidly growing. Professional bodies predict that meeting the needs of healthcare globally will require almost tripling the number of Medical Physicists by 2035. Similar challenges exist in the constantly growing profession of Medical Engineering. They can be solved most efficiently and effectively with the tools of e-Learning, and a free and open-source Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) platform such as Moodle is a welcome solution.

The Moodle VLE platform is a free, open source learning management system that is the most popular choice for higher educational institutions worldwide. However, the best practices of the Moodle system are still unknown to many. This practical guide provides educators, programme administrators, and programme directors with a condensed guide to Moodle and step-by-step instructions on how to create a single course or an entire educational programme. It also discusses cost-effective ways to apply e-Learning in an educational institution.

This guide is accessible to all professionals, even those without specialist IT skills, and will be helpful to educators of all levels in Medical Physics and Engineering, as well as in other medical and medical-related specialties or disciplines with a strong imaging component.

Features:

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• Provides step-by-step instructions of how to build a course/module for Higher Education on Moodle

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• Gives practical solutions to implementing e-Learning in Medical Physics and Engineering

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• Explores useful tips and tricks for best practice

CHAPTER1

e-Learning in Medical Physics and Engineering

An Overview

1.1 Definition and Types

The term “e-Learning” evolved with the advancements in the use of technology in education, and it is argued that the prerequisites for its appearance can be traced back to the 1960s and even before [1]. After this exact term was coined in the late 1990s, it came to encompass previously used terms such as “multimedia-based education”, “computer-based training (CBT)”, and “electronic teaching materials”. This term gained popularity after an article in 1998 by A. Morri [2].

It should be noted that there is not a single agreed definition of e-Learning. It is often stressed that e-Learning means different things in different sectors, and nowadays it is generally accepted that in Higher Education, “e-Learning” refers to the use of both software-based and online learning. An important point to note is that e-Learning not only makes available documents in electronic format via online learning, but also encourages interaction between the different users and develops a flexible pedagogical approach. A good source that explores the basic concepts as well as day-to-day issues of e-Learning, looking at both theoretical concepts and practical implementation issues, is Ref. [3].

A variety of accompanying terms are in use in e-Learning–related literature, the most frequently used being Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and Learning Management System (LMS), and also Managed Learning Environment (MLE), Learning Support System (LSS), etc. All these terms refer to online platforms and software systems configured to facilitate management and student involvement in e-Learning, and describe a wide range of systems that organise and provide access to online education services for students, teachers, and administrators. These services usually include access control, provision of learning content, communication tools, and administration of user groups. Throughout this book, the term “Virtual Learning Environment” (VLE) is accepted to describe the variety of functions mentioned above.

1.2 THE CASE FOR e-LEARNING

Today e-Learning is an intrinsic part of education, and there is hardly any need to make the case for its implementation. We shall discuss briefly here the three main issues driving the development of e-Learning:

• Enhanced quality of learning,
• Increased number of students,
• Facilitating the management of learning.

The evolution of e-Learning in Higher Education has witnessed examples when the driving force for the introduction of e-Learning has been economic efficiency alone, but in our experience and to achieve sustainability, the other factors are discussed here with priority.

1.2.1 Enhanced Quality of Learning

The improved quality of content in e-Learning does not happen automatically. As pointed in [4], this requires not only detailed knowledge of the subject area, but also advanced knowledge of state-of-the-art computer technology and software, and good vision on combining them in a learning pack.

As discussed in a variety of papers, e-Learning is moving more and more from representing an instruction paradigm to becoming a learning paradigm, where the teacher with a learning perspective provides students support and the students themselves actively discover and construct knowledge [5–7].

Facilitating the management of learning is what makes the VLE platform a welcome feature of contemporary education, and this will be illustrated through the example of the Moodle platform throughout this book.

Medical Physics and Medical Engineering are areas that make the case for the introduction of e-Learning a very strong one. It makes possible not only the cost-effective dissemination of a large volume of imaging material, specific for the profession, but it can also accommodate simulations for the explanation and illustration of the scientific fundament and complex functions of various aspects of medical technology. It is also extremely beneficial for such a dynamic profession, allowing for quick and efficient upgrading, and thus making possible the newest updates to reach the targeted student audience in a timely fashion. Pioneering educators in the field, such as the team behind the projects European Medical Radiation Learning Development (EMERALD), European Medical Imaging Technology Training (EMIT), and European Medical Imaging Technology e-Encyclopaedia for Lifelong Learning (EMITEL), discussed further down, developed the first image database in the profession, the first e-Dictionary and e-Encyclopaedia and others, and saw this potential of “computer-aided education” long before the term “e-Learning” was coined.

1.2.2 Increased Number of Students

While not a goal in itself and not the main driving force, this was another achievement and a logical consequence of the pioneering projects mentioned above. Thus the number of students in Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering at the MSc programme in Medical Engineering and Physics (MEP) at King’s College London, UK, increased from 12 to 38 in 2011 with the same administrative resources and consequently from 2011 to 2013 reached the number of 112 MSc students (mostly part-time) in three cohorts, becoming one of the largest courses in the profession worldwide. This remarkable economic efficiency was achieved through implementing a pilot Moodle VLE in 2011 at King’s College London with retained and even enhanced quality of teaching, which was reflected in the reviews of external assessors over the years. In yet another example, the free e-Learning pack EMERALD, the first such pack to be developed in Medical Physics in 1996, was made available to about 50 students at the ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics) College on Medical Physics, Trieste, Italy and consequently was opened for access free of charge to all medical physicists from low- and middle-income countries, which led to a worldwide use of e-materials (Figure 1.1).

FIGURE 1.1 EMERALD, EMIT, and EMITEL materials disseminated in more than 100 countries.

The case for introduction of e-Learning in the profession of Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering becomes even stronger when taking into consideration the predicted needs of tripling the number of medical physicists worldwide by 2035 [8,9].

As this is compared with the growth of the global number of medical physicists in the period of 1965–2015 [10], it is evident that there is an enormous task before the educators in this profession for less than two decades from now. The aim of the current book is to facilitate reaching this target by 2035.

1.3 PIONEERS OF e-LEARNING IN MEDICAL PHYSICS

As it was pointed before, pioneering educators in the field of Medical Physics realised the potential of education aided by computers long before the term “e-Learning” appeared.

The prerequisites for this were the image-rich contents of the subject and the complexity of the scientific principles involved in the explanation and illustration of the functioning of medical technology.

During the 1990s, it was obvious that the slow paper print of image-rich content did not allow quick educational content update in some dynamic professions. Medical Physics was one of them, and it was obvious that it was necessary to use IT technology in this case.

The first international Conference on Medical Physics Education and Training held in November 1994 in Budapest highlighted the need for international collaboration for the advancement of the profession [11]. Important links between professionals from different countries were forged which formed the basis for future projects in education, supported by the European Union. The first one of them, EMERALD (1995–1998), was managed and coordinated by King’s College London with partners from UK, Sweden, Italy, and Portugal [12].

This project developed the first educational databases in the profession on CD-ROM, which were one of the first digital publications in the world to be published with ISBN (as paper books). It was not a surprise that the world’s first three such digital image databases were developed in the field of medicine and medical-related disciplines, and remarkably, almost simultaneously (within 4 months), EMERALD being one of them:

• Atlas of Pathology: Urological Pathology CD-ROM, 30 December 1997, Springer-Verlag, ISBN 3540146571
• EMERALD Image Database, Training Courses in Medical Radiation Physics CD-ROM, 19 February 1998, King’s College London, ISBN 1870722035
• Developmental Psychology Image Database CD-ROM, 30 April 1998, McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0072896914

The content of the EMERALD image database was soon transferred online, and in 1999, this became the first educational website of the Medical Physics profession.

• EMERALD was the first in a series of projects [EMERALD, EMERALD II (Internet Issue), and EMIT] developed in the...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• About the Series
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 ◾ e-Learning in Medical Physics and Engineering: An Overview
• Chapter 2 ◾ Moodle as a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) System
• Chapter 3 ◾ Building an MSc Programme in Medical Physics on Moodle: The Teacher Functions in Focus
• Chapter 4 ◾ Role-Specific Functions on Moodle
• Chapter 5 ◾ Aspects of Moodle Application
• Chapter 6 ◾ Conclusion
• Index