Construction and Validation of Educational Material for Children with Hydrocephalus and Their Informal Caregivers.

OBJECTIVE: To build and validate journal-type digital and printed educational material for informal caregivers (i.e., the parents who provide care) of children with hydrocephalus. METHODS: This is a methodologic study conducted in the children's neurosurgery outpatient clinic of a university hospital. The content validity index with a concordance of ≥0.78 was used for validation. Content was validated with the participation of 5 nurses and 3 neurosurgeons, and appearance was validated with the participation of 9 informal caregivers of children with hydrocephalus. RESULTS: A 21-page journal was created to address hydrocephalus and its treatment. The content and semantics of this material were validated with a universal content validity index of 0.90 and 0.98, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Content and appearance of the educational material for informal caregivers of children with hydrocephalus were successfully validated and considered suitable and user-friendly for health education.

A success in Toxinology translational research in Brazil: bridging the gap.

Basic research is fundamental for discovering potential diagnostic and therapeutic tools, including drugs, vaccines and new diagnostic techniques. On this basis, diagnosis and treatment methods for many diseases have been developed. Presently, discovering new candidate molecules and testing them in animals are relatively easy tasks that require modest resources and responsibility. However, crossing the animal-to-human barrier is still a great challenge that most researchers tend to avoid. Thus, bridging this current gap between clinical and basic research must be encouraged and elucidated in training programmes for health professionals. This project clearly shows the challenges faced by a group of Brazilian researchers who, after discovering a new fibrin sealant through 20 years of painstaking basic work, insisted on having the product applied clinically. The Brazilian government has recently become aware of this challenge and has accordingly defined the product as strategic to the public health of the country. Thus, in addition to financing research and development laboratories, resources were invested in clinical trials and in the development of a virtual platform termed the Virtual System to Support Clinical Research (SAVPC); this platform imparts speed, reliability and visibility to advances in product development, fostering interactions among sponsors, physicians, students and, ultimately, the research subjects themselves. This pioneering project may become a future model for other public institutions in Brazil, principally in overcoming neglected diseases, which unfortunately continue to afflict this tropical country.

Colaboración docente on-line en educación universitaria / Online teaching collaboration in university education / Colaboração docente online na educação universitária

La colaboración docente on-line permite la creación de comunidades virtuales. Las herramientas virtuales de un equipo en red permiten crear clases virtuales en diferentes localizaciones geográficas. Estos ambientes permiten, en la Educación, diseñar transferencia de conocimientos entre alumnos y docentes incluyendo actividades sincrónicas y asincrónicas. En el presente trabajo describimos nuestra experiencia en colaboración docente on-line usando herramientas virtuales en educación universitaria. Los programas de conexión utilizados fueron 1- Skype: software de aplicación para llamadas en Internet (VoIP). 2- LAN. Aula virtual digital usando la URL: http://www.cevap.unesp.br/abertura. htm. Con los diferentes medios de comunicación disertó el docente colaborador a distancia en diferentes días y sitios de emisión y recepción. Los temas fueron: 1-"Cómo preparar una videoconferencia", 2-"Importancia de las TIC en docencia universitaria", 3-"Plataformas virtuales como bases de datos automatizadas en la búsqueda bibliográfica". 4- "Uso del laboratorio virtual en la docencia de Biología Celular, Histología y Embriología". Las herramientas virtuales permiten la colaboración on-line de docentes situados en diferentes lugares geográficos y la formación de recursos humanos que usarán los entornos virtuales en el desempeño de la docencia universitaria.

Online teaching collaboration allows the creation of virtual communities. Virtual tools in a networked team allow creating virtual classes in different geographic locations. These environments allow knowledge transfer between students and faculty, including synchronous and asynchronous activities. In this article, we describe our experience with online teaching collaboration using virtual tools in university education. The software packages were Skype, an application for voice over Internet (VoIP) and LAN, a virtual digital class available at http://www.cevap.unesp.br/abertura.htm. These media were used on different days and at different locations for webcasting and receiving. The themes were: 1) "How to prepare a videoconference", 2) "The importance of ICTs in university teaching", 3) "Virtual platforms such as automated databases in literature searches", and 4) "Using the virtual laboratory in teaching Cell Biology, Histology, and Embryology". Virtual tools allow online collaboration among teachers at different geographic locations, in addition to training human resources to use such tools in order to improve performance in university education.

A colaboração docente on-line permite a criação de comunidades virtuais. As ferramentas virtuais de uma equipe em rede permitem criar aulas virtuais em diferentes localizações geográficas. Estes ambientes permitem na educação a transferência do conhecimento entre alunos e docentes, incluindo atividades síncronas e assíncronas. Neste trabalho descrevemos nossa experiência em colaboração docente on-line, utilizando ferramentas virtuais na educação universitária. Os softwares utilizados foram 1-Skype: Software de aplicação para chamadas na Internet (VoIP). 2- LAN: Aula virtual digital disponibilizado em http://www.cevap.unesp.br/abertura.htm. Estas mídias foram utilizadas em dias e locais de transmissão e recepção diferentes. Os temas foram: 1-"Como preparar uma videoconferência", 2-"Importância das TICs na docência Universitária", 3-"Plataformas virtuais com bases de dados automatizadas na busca bibliográfica", 4-"Uso do laboratório virtual no ensino de Biologia Celular, Histologia e Embriologia". As ferramentas virtuais permitem a colaboração on-line de docentes localizados em diferentes localizações geográficas, além de formar recursos humanos que as usarão para melhorar o desempenho da educação universitária.

Tele-education environment and didactic iconography in sexual transmitted diseases

The field of advertising has developed techniques of mass communication and rapid transmission of information. Among these techniques are slogans and iconographies. This work used such tools for educational purposes and was divided into three modules. Module 1 evaluated the use of simplified textual communication (slogans) about the subject "Sexually Transmitted Diseases". It was applied to third-year medical students, which had not taken the course on this theme. To evaluate the impact of the textual communication form (slogans), long phrases were elaborated in scientific language containing 15 topics. From these long phrases, compact phrases were developed using techniques of the advertising area for elaboration of slogans. Three forms of didactic material about that theme were developed. The first form consisted of long phrases in descriptive topics, using scientific language. The second was constituted exclusively of compact phrases in the form of slogans, and the third was composed of the combination of the two previous forms. Then, 10 multiple-choice questions were elaborated and applied in two phases. In the first phase, application occurred immediately after the reading of didactic texts; in the second phase, it happened 60 days after the reading. For statistical analysis, Snedcor's F test was used for analysis of variance, at 5% significance level. There was an increase in memorization by students who read the material containing the association between long phrases and slogans, which indicates that the latter, when used as an auxiliary model of learning, can bring significant benefits for education. Module 2 consisted of analyzing the elaboration of educational videos produced in graphic computing (called iconographies) for development of dynamic communication means. The theme "Hair Cycle" was utilized. Viability of high quantities of information in few minutes of animation could be demonstrated together with the advantage of presenting the process in a dynamic form without wasting scientific details. Module 3 presented the inclusion of slogans in educational videos produced in graphic computing about the "Hair Cycle", showing a new tool for rapid and efficient transference of data. Slogans and iconographies, when utilized in educational material, can bring significant benefits for the student's learning.(AU)