e-Learning: the next big thing in medical education

ABSTRACT

The rapid advances in Information and Communication Technology [ICT] and the wide use of the World Wide Web has important implications for education. This continuous advancement in technology [e.g. Broadband internet connections, Ubiquitous Computing, Open Source Softwares] in conjunction with the recent recommendations in medical education suggesting a move toward problem-based learning [PBL] and use of information and communication technologies. All these factors led to the evolution of the e-learning environment in medical education. An initiative is underway in Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences [FMHS], Omdurman Islamic University [OIU], Sudan which aims to introduce a modern web-based learning environment that serves undergraduate medical students, supports the newly adopted philosophy of Problem-based Learning, and provides these new generations of doctors [Net generations] with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful practitioners. This digest endeavors to give a bird's-eye view of e-learning, its benefits and limitations and explores, with examples, some of the current uses of e-learning technologies in the education of medical students