One of a university’s biggest challenges is meeting the expectations of this Net Gen, said Clare Billman, director of the Medical College of Georgia Division of Visual and Instructional Design, and she doesn’t take the challenge lightly.
“We’re aware that our students learn differently from any other generation before them,” Mrs. Billman said. “We want them to know we’re aware and we’re doing something about it.”MCG is developing “My Curriculum to Go,” a pilot project to facilitate the learning preference of the new generation. Through a MyMCG Web page, students will be able to download educational video tutorials corresponding to classroom lectures. They will be available any time, anywhere in a variety of formats to accommodate an iPod, palm pilot, cell phone and/or personal computer.
“A
concerned student told me he’d only seen suturing one time,” Mrs. Billman said.
“With this technology, he can review it over and over again until he feels
familiar with the procedure.” The pilot will be designed primarily for
first-year MCG students and will include content such as medical equipment use,
basic anatomy and basic skills.
“This would definitely be beneficial for review of certain topics,” said first-year medical student Farzad Masroor. “I don’t think I’d use it to study the night before a test, but maybe when I’m reviewing complicated lecture notes or just standing in line somewhere.”
A team of instructional designers and faculty from all five schools will seek comments and suggestions from additional faculty members and students. The team will incorporate the feedback and produce the learning content. After peer review, the copyright-free material will be available free to everyone at MCG.
“We’re
going to be able to take this project to students and faculty and show them
examples of what we’re trying to do,” explained Dr. Carol Nichols, a “My
Curriculum to Go” team member and assistant professor of cellular biology and
anatomy. “We’ll get ideas from students about what will go well in this format
and approach faculty members for their participation.”
“My Curriculum to Go” incorporates extensive research on the unique learning preferences. Research shows that although traditional college students still prefer the classroom setting, thousands of Internet hours have changed the way they learn. “We are in competition for our students’ attention,” Mrs. Billman said. “They are a generation of multi-taskers, moving from one activity to the next, and as educators, we must adapt to their learning styles.”
The “My Curriculum to Go” tutorials last from seven seconds to seven minutes. Ms. Billman anticipates that students will review the videos during short breaks throughout the day.
“They
can pull their iPod or Palm out while waiting in line at the grocery store,” she
said. “It’s a learning tool they can use on their own time, in their own space.
It’s a very convenient technology that has multiple applications.”
The project is expected to expand beyond introductory classes after the first year. As for the next five to 10 years, the Division of Visual and Instructional Design will continue to adapt technological advances to meet the needs of MCG students.
“We want to look at what students do on their own and move into that space,” Mrs. Billman said. “In three years, it might not be an iPod—it could be something totally different. Our goal is to put learning in the student’s comfort zone without moving out of the instructor’s comfort zone.”
Kim Miller