Physiotherapy education 2.0: using collaborative web based tools in education and clinical practice

Alves Lopes, António

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/41353

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Authors

Alves Lopes, António

Abstract(s)

PURPOSE: In the recent years we have witnessed a rapid increase in the use of Web-based tools. These Web 2.0 applications, particularly wikis, blogs and podcasts, have been increasingly adopted by many online health-related professional and educational services. Because of their ease of use and rapidity of dissemination, they offer the opportunity for powerful information sharing and ease of collaboration that can be taken anywhere, providing the potential for "anytime, anywhere" learning experiences (mobile learning). RELEVANCE: Students are now more mobile than ever, and often find themselves located some distance from a parent institution on professional practice placement. The uses of such technologies to encourage learners' deeper engagement with learning materials, and the affordance of shared working spaces to improve collaboration between learners are desirable outcomes. It is generally held by many educators that students of all ages learn best when immersed within a culturally and socially rich environment in which scaffolding of learning can be achieved. DESCRIPTIONS: In the context of the Physiotherapy course in the Escola Superior de Saúde do Alcoitão we have used in the last 3 years a set of web based tools to promote collaborative teaching/learning in the academic and clinical setting. EVALUATION: The participation of academic staff, students and clinical educators as been very high. CONCLUSION: The latest generation of collaborative Web-based tools, namely wikis, blogs and podcasts, offer many unique and powerful information sharing and collaboration features. Careful thinking and research are still needed in order to find the best ways to leverage these emerging tools to promote the teaching and learning.