Leveraging learning technologies for collaborative writing in an online pharmacotherapy course

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the development and delivery of a hypertext case scenario document to be used as the capstone assessment tool for doctoral-level physical therapy students. The integration of Web-based collaborative tools (PBworks™ and Google Sites™) allowed students in this all-online course to apply their pharmacotherapy knowledge in a physical therapy patient scenario, while working with colleagues to determine the best route of patient care. Students developed digital writing skills imperative to a patient-centered, collaborative health-care field, and practiced evidence-based patient care. The findings demonstrate that the implementation of collaborative digital writing with a hypertext document case scenario assessment as the primary assessment tool in this online pharmacotherapy course delivered to doctoral-level physical therapy students is a feasible and effective educational strategy.

Keywords:

• collaborative digital writing
• authentic assessment
• health professional
• whole-task

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by an Interdisciplinary Studies of Writing grant from the Center for Writing at the University of Minnesota. The authors acknowledge the expert editing assistance of Amy LimBybliw, MA, in preparing this manuscript.