Epic Think Tank

Health and e-learning

Background: IVIMEDS

As an initial stimulus to panel discussion, Epic reported on moves to establish an International Virtual Medical School (IVIMEDS) aggregating and sharing the knowledge of medical institutes from all over the world.

Read more about IVIMEDS.

The core of the IVIMEDS concept is the creation of a bank of thousands of learning objects, which can be reused and recombined to provide everything that medical students worldwide need to learn. The concept of reusable learning objects is by no means uncontroversial. However, there are more clear examples of learning objects in medicine than in any other subject area. (The pros and cons of learning objects are discussed in a thought-provoking white paper by Epic's John Harris and Matthew Fox. Click here for a summary.)

Exploring the IVIMEDS concept our panel discussed how such a system, in which participants act as both producer and consumer, could be funded within the Health Service.

Of the two alternatives that emerged - payment following usage through some form of micropayment by learners, or institutions being paid for their contribution of IPR - both seemed to have drawbacks. Pay-for-usage was seen as impractical, while the alternative risked putting too much control back in the hands of institutions - surely the whole point of 'e' was to empower learners?

It was instructive to see how soon our think tank panel, in addressing an immediate, practical issue, found itself considering the wider issue of how e-learning challenges existing structures in fundamental and inescapable ways...

Next>>

Part 1 Challenges of 'e' to tradition
Part 2 Opportunities and practicalities
Part 3 Looking for 'quick wins'
Afterword