Abstract:

Medical education is an area of increasing complexity that benefits from adaptive computer supported collaborative learning systems. These tools can support study management using instructional design and learning object principles. Our goal is to understand the types of tools that are arising and how are these tools being evaluated relative to their impact on student learning.

We are performing a literature review addressing about 300 papers on e-learning, blended learning and software publications in the area of medical education, published in the decade. The majority of papers demonstrates the implementation of e-learning platforms and compares them the traditional lectures. In addition a relevant number of papers describes the assessment of blended learning methodologies. A smaller fraction of the publications refers to more specific spaced education approaches that are carried by making use of conventional tools such as emails to deliver educational content over spaced intervals. The most frequent assessment methods used are self ministered questionnaires and the multiple-choice examinations, before and after the interventions.

This is still a work in progress that we hope that will shed light on the ways novel digital educational tools are assessed.

Keywords:

Medical education, e-learning, blended learning, spaced-learning.