Summary
E-learning refers to the use of Internet
technologies to deliver a broad array of
learning modes that enhance learners’
knowledge and performance. There is
evidence for the effectiveness and
acceptance of e-learning within the
medical education community, especially
when combined with traditional teacherled
activities in a blended-learning
educational experience. Several digital
repositories of e-learning materials exist,
some with peer review, where instructors
or developers can submit materials for
widespread use or retrieve them for
creating new materials. The evaluation of
e-learning should include a peer-review
process and an assessment of outcomes
such as learner satisfaction, content
usability, and demonstration of learning.
Faculty skills in creating e-learning may
differ from those needed for traditional
teaching; faculty rewards for scholarly
activity must recognize this difference
and should be commensurate with effort.
With technological advancement, the
future offers the promise of high-fidelity,
high-speed simulations and personalized
instruction using both adaptive and
collaborative learning. Centers of
excellence in e-learning can provide
national support for the design,
development, implementation,
evaluation, collaboration, and sharing of
digital e-learning materials. The
integration of e-learning into
undergraduate, graduate, and continuing
medical education will promote a shift
toward adult learning in medical
education, wherein educators no longer
serve solely as distributors of content, but
become facilitators of learning and
assessors of competency.