Blended Curricular Learning Resources
Office of Medical Education Research and Development
College of Human Medicine - Michigan State University
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Blended Learning Tools, Tips and Best Practices
 Blogs for Medical Education
Published 4/2008
A Blog (shorthand for Web log) is a second generation (Web 2.0) communication tool represented in the form of an Internet publishing website that allows people to collaborate and share information online in new ways. A Blog can be thought of as an online journal that provides an outlet for anyone wanting to create a personal or collaborative space on the web. Blogs empowers users to have a social online voice to connect with people all over the world, or if desired with just a few people.
As a Blog creator, a user has a choice to keep it public, private, or make it available only to a specific group of readers that he/she chooses. Usually Blogs are maintained by an individual or group of individuals and are updated on an ongoing basis with regular text entries, or other materials such as graphics, audio and video. These entries are normally displayed in a reverse chronological order.
The implications of Blogs for teaching and learning as an instructional technology tool lays in the flexibility to create a learning space (using the web as a platform) for students, or colleagues to collaborate in the creation and sharing of new knowledge. For example, Blogs can be used to link to specific classes where students and faculty become the authors of the content in class discussions, debates or class assignments. This collaboration creates a new opportunity for interaction among student peers and allows them to learn from each other in an environment that goes beyond the walls of a lecture hall, and regular coursework.
Creative uses of Blogs in medical education may include case reflection Blogs, small group Blogs, medical students Blogs. Several years of evolution and experimentation with Blogs seem to indicate that structured exercises and setting of clear goals for using Blogs are key elements in enhancing their value and use in education. The current MSU Angel LMS supports the creation and use of Blogs for courses; other popular online services that are free for starting your own Blogs are blogger.com and edublogs.org. To see an example of a public Blog used for medical education, visit the Medical Education Blog created for the University of Saskatchewan faculty in Canada.
If you are interested in learning more about Blogs and how to use it in your course, or have ideas for projects where you may like to use this technology; please contact the CHM Blended Curricular Learning Resources for help. You may contact us via an email to Geraud Plantegenest at plantege@msu.edu, or call (517) 353-2037 Ext. 237.
 Are You Screencasting?
Published 3/2008
A Screencast is a digital recording of your computer screen, it is also known as a video screen capture. As a term Screencasting has become popular since 2004 to describe the production of video elements using screen recording software applications (e.g., Camtasia Studio for Windows OS, SnapzProX for Mac OS) that allow the user to record and show their audience exactly what is on their computer screen. Often, these recordings are accompanied with synchronized audio narration from the presenter, sound from the application being recorded, or background audio from a different application.
Many faculty (including faculty at CHM and MSU) are taking advantage of this Screencasting technology to provide students both local and at a distance with access to lecture materials online that they can access whenever and wherever it is convenient for them; allowing students to learn in a more flexible self-directed fashion that suits their style and speed of learning.
To see some examples of Screencasts done by faculty in CHM, please visit the B-CLR project showcase at http://omerad.msu.edu/bclr/showcase.html
Early stages of screen recording applications produced files that were too large and were difficult to work with because of limited editing features. Current applications have become more sophisticated, more user-friendly and provide support for the most popular formats (e.g., Flash, MP3, Ipod video, Window Media, Quicktime and more). Generally, users watch Screencasts streamed over a network, download them (when the option is available) to their local computers, or use their portable audio/video devices for playback anywhere, and anytime.
Lecture Screencasts can provide students with a valuable resource that they can watch as many times as they choose (e.g., review class materials that are difficult to understand) and gives them great flexibility to control the delivery and assimilation of the lecture content with playback controls that learner can use to stop, pause, fast forward, rewind the lecture and even change the speed playback of the lecture (using Variable Speed Playback, or VSP). VSP has become a popular feature among users, because it can allow learners to listen a lecture recording at 1.5 or 2 times the speed of the original recording speed (or higher), which results in tremendous time savings as learners can then review the material using anywhere from 25% to 75% less time that the original lecture would take.
Screencasts also provide instructors with a great opportunity to create and recreate learning modules as educational resources that can be crafted to target specific elements of a course (e.g., demonstrations of basic concepts, tutorials, etc) and supplement, facilitate, or motivate in-class, or online discussions.
Current trends in the design of Screencasts seek to improve the delivery of content using these media by incorporating more time and thoughtful planning of sessions and adding more interactive elements in the video recordings, such as integrated self-assessment evaluations, videos relevant to the subject, and images/audio that can effectively enhance learning.
If you are interested in learning more about Screencasting and how to use it in your course, or have ideas for projects where you may like to use this technology; please contact the CHM Blended Curricular Learning Resources for help. You may contact us via an email to Geraud Plantegenest at plantege@msu.edu, or call (517) 353-2037 Ext. 237.
Podcasting: What is it?
Published 2/2008
Podcasting is a blend of the terms “iPod” and “broadcasting” and it involves the distribution of audio and video files over the internet for use on portable media players and personal computers.
Contrary to what many people believe, Podcasting does not actually require the use of the popular iPod player (a portable audio device) manufactured by Apple. A key feature that distinguishes a podcast from other types of media formats is its ability to be downloaded automatically to the computer once a user has subscribed to a RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed. The RSS feed is the technology used for notifying the users of updates to content in a website, blog, or Internet TV channel.
Podcasting gives you (the pod-caster) the ability to reach a specific audience and deliver your content directly to them. A number of CHM faculty are already using this popular format to provide students in the pre-clinical years with access to online lectures, anytime and anywhere.
To see examples of Podcasts at MSU, you may want to visit the MSU Podcasting project website (http://podcast.msu.edu). If you are interested in Podcasting and want to know more about it, or have ideas for a project where you may like to use this technology; contact the CHM Blended Curricular Learning Resources group to help you get started. You may contact us via an email to Geraud Plantegenest at plantege@msu.edu, or call (517) 353-2037 Ext. 237.
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