Abstract:

The University of Talca-Chile is a public institution that congregates nearly 12 thousands undergraduate students distributed in 5 campuses around the country. The Health Faculty congregates six programs and shares several biomedical courses with Odontology and Medicine during the first years. The pandemic forced all programs to seek digital and virtualized alternatives to maintain the educational process and access to experiences close to the clinical fields. This contingent situation, added to today's rapidly evolving educational context, made higher education institutions to continually seek innovative ways to enhance the learning experience for students, particularly within health faculties.
The utilization of digital teaching resources offers several advantages in health education. Firstly, it enables educators to integrate interactive multimedia elements such as videos, simulations, and virtual reality experiences, which can enhance students' understanding of complex health concepts and procedures. These resources can provide students with immersive learning opportunities, allowing them to explore real-life scenarios and develop critical thinking and decision-making skills within a safe and controlled environment.
This work shares the research about the use and demands of digital teaching resources within an university health department in a higher education institution and highlights the potential benefits and challenges associated with this integration. The research was conducted through a prospection that included interviews to selected relevant stakeholders ("agents of digital transformation"), educators who regularly seeks resources and tools in virtual environments. The findings were mainly categorized by 1. Disciplinary area; 2. Instructional objective; 3. Format; and 4. Technical specifications, in order to have an overview of the immersive level and which resources demands are common to the various programs of the Faculty to define support strategies, in a context of institutional support to a digital transformation.
It is recognized by the interviewed academics and educators that the digital teaching resources offer flexibility and accessibility, addressing the diverse needs of students in higher education. Educators can create a dynamic and engaging environment that promotes deep understanding and prepares students for the complexities of the healthcare field although a successful integration requires careful planning, ongoing support, and attention to potential challenges to ensure optimal outcomes for both educators and students. In the discourse, digital resources are valued to provide opportunities for personalized learning experiences through adaptive technologies and data-driven insights, allowing educators to tailor instruction to individual student needs and monitor progress effectively.
However, integrating digital teaching resources into a health faculty also presents challenges that need to be addressed, involving artificial intelligence (IA), for example. Faculty members must receive appropriate training and support to effectively use these resources and adapt their teaching strategies accordingly. Technological infrastructure and accessibility issues need to be considered to ensure equitable access for all students.

Keywords:

Digital-resources, health-education, virtuality.