Abstract:

Introduction:
Pharmacology is a subject taught in health sciences courses at university, which include but not limited to pharmacy and medical degree courses. Despite being a core subject in the understanding of drug action and treatment for diseases, pharmacology has generally been perceived as boring and a subject that requires mainly memorization. We envisage that this can be changed by teaching the subject using interactive multimedia and software.

Objective:
The study aimed to develop a good e-learning module with all the critical features and high quality of content in order to develop competency of students in pharmacology.

Methodology:
A literature search on e-learning modules of gastrointestinal (GI) pharmacology was done on various databases with inclusion criteria included English language and those developed between 2006 and 2016. Focus was given to articles related to pharmacology of the GI system that provide information on features of e-learning module. From those articles that met these criteria, further analyses were done on the effectiveness of such e-learning modules and the different types of resources used.

Results and Discussion:
Of the final 21 articles reviewed, it was found that there were limited variety of e-resources being used in such e-module of GI pharmacology. From some of the evaluated studies, we have identified critical features that should appear in an effective e-module to fill the gap in the literature. The most common and effective media used in e-learning module were quizzes, videos, animations with high definition quality. Effective tools to be incorporated in e-learning modules were videos and animation, learning games and interactive case studies. It was also found that graphics design along with effective online collaboration through discussion boards or e-mail and chunking of information were important usability characteristics that made the modules effective and engaging in learning.

Conclusion:
An effective e-learning module has the potential of changing the perception of the learning of pharmacology. This involves the use of suitable multimedia, effective collaboration, interactive study and chunking of information to present the information.

Keywords:

e-learning, articulate software, interactive learning, pharmacology, gastrointestinal disease.