Implementation of the online learning management system ‘Moodle’ as a blended approach to online teaching

Objectives: Web-based learning is becoming a newly accepted standard in education, more so with COVID-19 pandemic. To use technology to redesign learning experiences, a blend of synchronous and asynchronous approaches was used wherein the routine lectures through MS Teams (synchronous) were integrated with an online learning management system (LMS), ‘Moodle’ (modular object-oriented dynamic learning environment) based, four-quadrant approach (asynchronous). We aimed to determine the student’s engagement, performance and perception of the new online LMS. Materials and Methods: All 170 students of the 1st year MBBS of batch 2020 were enrolled in the course. A module was developed for teaching ‘Physiology of Vision’ with this blended approach. Along with routine online lectures through Microsoft Teams, supplementary materials in the form of multimedia presentations and additional links to useful websites were provided through online LMS. The online activity of students was recorded and assessments were done. A feedback form was filled out by students at the end of the course. Results: A significant positive correlation of examination scores with individual student’s activity logs and significantly better scores in top Moodle users along with significantly higher marks in Moodle-based modules than in other modules confirmed the value of Moodle in improving student performance. Overall feedback from students was clearly in favour of implementing Moodle as a complementary tool to traditional teaching. Conclusion: Moodle improved the quality of learning. It developed interest and motivation among students and has a positive impact on academic outcomes.

Experience of a medical school in the Philippines on the sudden shift to online learning amidst COVID-19

Introduction@#The COVID-19 pandemic forced educational institutions to adapt to a full online learning environment. Medical schools in particular were disrupted by this shift since the majority of the learning objectives, skills, and necessary competencies are learned through classroom and hospital face-to-face activities. @*Objective@#The purpose of this paper is to describe the experiences of a medical school in the country as it navigated the sudden shift to full online learning vis-à-vis a framework on the barriers and solutions to online learning. @*Method@#This is a descriptive paper written from the perspective and observations of an administrator who participated in crafting the immediate response of the school to the sudden shift to online delivery and who worked with the stakeholders of the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health (ASMPH). @*Results@#To address concerns on time, skills and infrastructure, the school reprioritized its learning objectives for the remainder of the school year. It conducted in-service sessions for faculty while also immediately setting up a learning management system and a technical support team that was available on demand. Strategies employed included a deliberate switch to asynchronous learning, curation of content and creativity in delivery and assessment, and the reshaping of the management and public health activities into the online platform. To manage attitudes and provide institutional support, the school worked collaboratively with stakeholders and transformed its traditional support services of campus ministry, counselling, formation, and physical and mental health to be readily available online. @*Conclusion@#We described the experience of ASMPH when medical schools were forced to completely shift to online delivery of their programs because of the pandemic. We identified the barriers and solutions of online learning in medical education. The unique context of the ASMPH for having a dual degree in medicine and management; having an inter-disciplinal, non-departmentalized set-up at each year level; and, possessing the traditions of Jesuit education were instrumental in the school’s ability to navigate this sudden shift.

Release from Restraint / 医学教育

The faculty development for clinical supervisor teaching residents (FD) was held for two nights on site in Japan. However, corona pandemic made it difficult to conduct the FD on site, thus we conducted it completely online. To avoid participants’ burden of long hours of synchronous online learning, we adopted a flipped classroom in which assignments in asynchronous online learning was used in discussion in synchronous learning. Assignments were issued sequentially five weeks prior to the synchronous session, and the synchronous session was held from 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 13, 2020 to Saturday, November 14, 2020 for 45 participants. All participants completed the course by submitting all the assignments. The online flipped classroom utilizing assignments has a potential to significantly reduce the time constraints on busy clinicians.