eLearning Bites (eBites):
A Medical Education Blog for a Global Community of Learners Elisabeth F.M. Schlegel1 & Janine Primacio2. 1Zucker School of Medicine; 2Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY Elisabeth.Schlegel@hofstra.edu @Dr_E_Schlegel
5261 Pageviews (2021): Engaging Online Social Learning
Background, Pilot Study Design & Initial Feedback
Problem: Remote education across the medical education continuum and beyond lacks social connection elements, e.g. rapport and learner-centered education. We identified the need for human-centered, unrestricted online teaching environments that offer discussion forums and ignite learner collaboration.
Background: Inspired by FOAMed-based blogs, eBite was founded in June 2020 on a Weebly platform to provide open access to education best practices globally and flipped-classroom pre-work use locally. Content Categories: 1) Teaching and Learning; 2) Curriculum Development; 3) Evaluation and Assessment; 4) Research Methods; and 5) Leadership and Management. An editorial calendar follows sessions and events. Mixed-Methods Pilot Study: Effectiveness and impact are measured through (1) quantifying reach using Google Analytics and (2) a Likert-style survey with narrative questions. Perceptions: Learners (elective cohort & unconnected) strongly agreed/agreed that the blog posts were effective as pre-work and an enjoyable read and format that promotes learning. Learners did not use blogs for study previously.
Goal: The medical education blog eBite http://elisabeth-fm-schlegel.weebly.com/ elearning-bites aims to (1) provide learners with instructional content supporting upcoming medical education sessions as pre-work flipped classroom style and (2) prompt learner collaboration through higher-order questions using private shared documents and blog comments.
Blogs for Flipped Classroom: Learner Experience Map
Narrative Themes Theme 1: Content Introduction “….concisely discussed topics in an accessible way to new learners …”
Google Analytics: Reader Engagement with the Blog
Theme 2: Joyful Read “…a fun reinterpretation of reading an academic article…” Theme 3: Content Presentation/Layout “…appreciated when the blog posts aren't blocks of text, but rather have accompanying images…” Theme 4: Reflection/Space for Thinking “…the opportunity to reflect about these … let me look back on my previous experiences and consider ….”
Conclusions, Reflections & Lessons Learned • eBite fills the need for innovative, human-centered, online teaching environments that promote rapport, offer discussion forums, and ignite learner collaboration across the medical education continuum. • This is the first report on utilizing a medical education social learning blog for upcoming sessions, and initial reports from learners are encouraging. • Lessons learned include timely announcement of challenging blog posts and discussion prompts. • Overall, custom eBite posts can stimulate discussion in a range of sessions and venues, i.e., faculty development sessions, conference workshops, and retreats