ABSTRACT
Online learning in Health Professions Education (HPE) has been evolving over decades, but COVID-19 changed its use abruptly. Technology allowed necessary HPE during COVID-19, but also demonstrated that many HP educators and learners had little knowledge and experience of these complex sociotechnical environments. Due to the educational benefits and flexibility that technology can afford, many higher education experts agree that online learning will continue and evolve long after COVID-19. As HP educators stand at the crossroads of technology integration, it is important that we examine the evidence, theories, advantages/disadvantages, and pedagogically informed design of online learning. This Guide will provide foundational concepts and practical strategies to support HPE educators and institutions toward advancing pedagogically informed use of online HPE. This Guide consists of two parts. The first part will provide an overview of evidence, theories, formats, and educational design in online learning, including contemporary issues and considerations such as learner engagement, faculty development, inclusivity, accessibility, copyright, and privacy. The second part (to be published as a separate Guide) focuses on specific technology tool types with practical examples for implementation and integration of the concepts discussed in Guide 1, and will include digital scholarship, learning analytics, and emerging technologies. In sum, both guides should be read together, as Guide 1 provides the foundation required for the practical application of technology showcased in Guide 2.Please refer to the video abstract for Part 1 of this Guide at https://bit.ly/AMEEGuideOnlineLearning.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 forced universities to shift to online learning (emergency remote teaching (ERT)). This study aimed at identifying the nontechnological challenges that faced Sultan Qaboos University medical and biomedical sciences students during the pandemic. This was a survey-based, cross-sectional study aimed at identifying nontechnological challenges using Likert scale, multiple-choice, and open-ended questions. Students participated voluntarily and gave their consent;anonymity was maintained and all data were encrypted. The response rate was 17.95% (n = 131) with no statistically significant difference based on gender or majors (p-value > 0.05). Of the sample, 102 (77.9%) were stressed by exam location uncertainty, 96 (73.3%) felt easily distracted, 98 (74.8%) suffered physical health issues, and 89 (67.9%) struggled with time management. The main barriers were lack of motivation (92 (70.2%)), instruction/information overload (78 (59.5%)), and poor communication with teachers (74 (56.5%)). Furthermore, 57 (43.5%) said their prayer time was affected, and 65 (49.6%) had difficulties studying during Ramadan. The most important qualitative findings were poor communication and lack of motivation, which were reflected in student comments. While ERT had positive aspects, it precipitated many nontechnological challenges that highlight the inapplicability of ERT as a method of online learning for long-term e-learning initiatives. Challenges must be considered by the faculty to provide the best learning experience for students in the future.
ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 pandemic necessitated Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT): the sudden move of educational materials online. While ERT served its purpose, medical teachers are now faced with the long-term and complex demands of formal online teaching. One of these demands is ethical online teaching. Although ethical teaching is practiced in face-to-face situations, online teaching has new ethical issues that must be accommodated, and medical teachers who wish to teach online must be aware of these and need to teach ethically. This Guide leads the medical teacher through this maze of complex ethical issues to transform ERT into ethical online teaching. It begins by setting the context and needs and identifies the relevant fundamental ethical principles and issues. It then guides the medical teacher through the practical application of these ethical principles, covering course design and layout (including the curriculum document, implementation, on-screen layouts, material accessibility), methods of interaction (synchronous and asynchronous), feedback, supervision and counselling, deeper accessibility issues, issues specific to clinical teaching, and assessment. It then discusses course reviews (peer-review and student evaluations), student monitoring and analytics, and archiving. The Guide aims to be a useful tool for medical teachers to solidly ground their online teaching practices in ethical principles.