Wikis, blogs and podcasts: a new generation of Web-based tools

This discussion paper looks interesting; I believe Phil Candy at the NHS is thinking along similar lines from the posting on Rod Ward’s blog. Anyhow check it out if that appeals – Wikis, blogs and podcasts: a new generation of Web-based tools forvirtual collaborative clinical practice and education by Maged N Kamel Boulos, Inocencio Maramba and Steve Wheeler.

Abstract
Background: We have witnessed a rapid increase in the use of Web-based ‘collaborationware’ in recent years. 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 deployment, they offer the opportunity for powerful information sharing and ease of collaboration. Wikis are Web sites that can be edited by anyone who has access to them. The word ‘blog’ is a contraction of ‘Web Log’ – an online Web journal that can offer a resource rich multimedia environment. Podcasts are repositories of audio and video materials that can be “pushed” to subscribers, even without user intervention. These audio and video files can be downloaded to portable media players that can be taken anywhere, providing the potential for “anytime, anywhere” learning experiences (mobile learning).

Discussion:
Wikis, blogs and podcasts are all relatively easy to use, which partly accounts for their proliferation. The fact that there are many free and Open Source versions of these tools may also be responsible for their explosive growth. Thus it would be relatively easy to implement any or all within a Health Professions’ Educational Environment. Paradoxically, some of their disadvantages also relate to their openness and ease of use. With virtually anybody able to alter, edit or otherwise contribute to the collaborative Web pages, it can be problematic to gauge the reliability and accuracy of such resources. While arguably, the very process of collaboration leads to a Darwinian type ‘survival of the fittest’ content within a Web page, the veracity of these resources can be assured through careful monitoring, moderation, and operation of the collaborationware in a closed and secure digital environment. Empirical research is still needed to build our pedagogic evidence base about the different aspects of these tools in the context of medical/health education.

Summary and conclusion:
If effectively deployed, wikis, blogs and podcasts could offer a way to enhance students’, clinicians’ and patients’ learning experiences, and deepen levels of learners’ engagement and collaboration within digital learning environments. Therefore, research should be conducted to determine the best ways to integrate these tools into existing e-Learning programmes for students, health professionals and patients, taking into account the different, but also overlapping, needs of these three audience classes and the opportunities of virtual collaboration between them. Of particular importance is research into novel integrative applications, to serve as the “glue” to bind the different forms of Web-based collaborationware synergistically in order to provide a coherent wholesome learning experience.

New Software Creates Interactive 3D Medical Imaging

Wow, now that’s what I call impressive technology..

With visuals that clinicians and researchers can not only view head-on, but actually walk around and through, researchers in the Netherlands say they’ve realized the dream of truly interactive 3D medical imaging.

“There are so many applications,” said Peter van der Spek, Ph.D., who led the development of the I-Space virtual reality theater at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam. “The first step is just realizing what you can do with it.”

Envisioning how the technology can be used not only for research but also in diagnosis and treatment decisions, a company spawned by the project, Crosslinks, is working to develop and market the invention elsewhere in Europe and around the world.

Historically, viewing a 3D image really meant looking at the image on a two-dimensional screen and then rotating or zooming in on the image to “see” around the scanned object. I-Space, powered by 3D volume rendering software that digests massive amounts of image data, uses eight projectors on four walls and the floor to create a 3D image in a special viewing arena. Users can then interact with the image, seeing its depth by wearing special glasses with polarizing lenses.

..more>>