Developing a fully online course for senior medical students

Figures & data

Figure 1.  Module structure.

Figure 2.  ENT case 1, question 1, with explanation of answer A.

Figure 3.  Videotaped explanation to ENT case 1, question 1.

Figure 4.  Reference material for acute sinusitis cases.

Figure 5.  Online seminar.

Figure 6.  Online geriatrics quiz.

Figure 7.  Quiz question in gastroenterology submitted and graded with an explanation.

Table 1. Multiple-choice responses for three student cohorts

Question	2007–2008 (Cohort 1) (N = 88) Mean (SD)	2008–2009 (Cohort 2) (N = 82) Mean (SD)	2009–2010 (Cohort 3) (N = 106) Mean (SD)
1.  Approximately how many hours per week did you spend working on this course? A	3.16 (1.004)	2.95 (1.005)	2.89 (1.020)
2.  Course learning outcomes were clear. B	3.77 (1.025)	3.87 (0.828)	4.10 (0.820)
3.  I understood what was expected of me in the course. B	3.90 (0.908)	3.91 (0.840)	4.16 (0.750)
4.  The technology in this computer-based course worked well. B	4.23 (0.773)	4.48 (0.654)	4.54 (0.620)
5.  All of the online course material was easy to access and navigate. B	4.17 (0.820)	4.33 (0.652)	4.37 (0.740)
6.  The course content challenged me at an appropriate level. B	3.99 (0.828)	3.95 (0.705)	4.14 (0.750)
7.  The three major components of the course (weekly online topics and resources, three symposia, project) fit together well to assure learning. B	3.72 (0.949)	3.73 (0.903)	4.01 (0.790)
8.  The course met my own learning expectations. B	3.79 (0.904)	3.77 (0.725)	3.97 (0.740)
9.  Course material was… C	3.42 (0.582)	3.32 (0.564)	3.25 (0.540)
10.  Weekly multiple-choice questions were … C	3.75 (0.611)	3.54 (0.613)	3.40 (0.610)
11.  Expectations for the final project were … C	3.13 (0.428)	3.04 (0.299)	3.08 (0.390)
12.  Overall, this course challenged me to think at a complex level about the topics covered. B	3.95 (0.806)	3.80 (0.732)	3.83 (0.930)
13.  Overall, the quality of this course was … D	3.73 (1.025)	3.72 (0.990)	3.96 (0.930)
14.  The flexibility in the course provided by computer-based distance learning was of great assistance in scheduling my resident interviews. B	4.47 (0.958)	4.73 (0.610)	4.61 (0.690)

SD: standard deviation

A. 1 = 0–4 hours, 2 = 5–9 hours, 3 = 10–14 hours, 4 = 15–19 hours, 5 = 20+ hours

B. 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree

C. 1 = too easy, 2 = somewhat easy, 3 = just right, 4 = somewhat difficult, 5 = too difficult

D. 1 = poor, 2 = fair, 3 = good, 4 = very good, 5 = excellent

Figure 8.  Students signed in from around the USA (red box).