Technological advances and teaching innovation applied to health science education

[EN]In recent years, computer application development has experienced exponential growth, not only in number but also regarding the fields that have benefitted from its use. In health science training and medicine in particular, the progressive incorporation of technological developments has transformed the teaching and learning process, resulting in true “educational technology”, which this track focuses on given its repercussion and current dissemination. One of the most representative examples within educational technology has been the development of new content visualization systems, more complete and realistic than traditional learning material on paper. These applications are true learning environments aimed toward maximizing the student’s work outside the classroom and the interaction with the contents given, an important support or complement to traditional teaching. The technological application development with teaching purposes in Heath Science is paying increasing attention to mobile phones, smartphones and tablets due to their portability, economic accessibility and Internet access, maximizing the dissemination and availability of developed applications. These changes in health science teaching pose a challenge for teachers and institutions when designing, developing, implementing and evaluating these technological applications, as well as an effort on behalf of students to adapt. Thus, it is fitting to provide a space to gather and reflect upon these practices in an event like the International Conference on Technology Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturalism. Nowadays, a growing number of studies have directed their attention to the effectiveness evaluation of these applications with increasingly sophisticated designs. The results are encouraging and signal a promising future for the development of computer applications in health science. The purpose of this track is twofold: to offer a general vision on the contribution of medical informatics and related fields in health science; and to provide an excellent opportunity to promote and exchange innovative teaching experiences, especially those based on the application of new technologies

Possible Contexts of Use for In Silico trials methodologies: a consensus- based review

The term In Silico Trial indicates the use of computer modelling and simulation to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a medical product, whether a drug, a medical device, a diagnostic product or an advanced therapy medicinal product. Predictive models are positioned as new methodologies for the development and the regulatory evaluation of medical products. New methodologies are qualified by regulators such as FDA and EMA through formal processes, where a first step is the definition of the Context of Use (CoU), which is a concise description of how the new methodology is intended to be used in the development and regulatory assessment process. As In Silico Trials are a disruptively innovative class of new methodologies, it is important to have a list of possible CoUs highlighting potential applications for the development of the relative regulatory science. This review paper presents the result of a consensus process that took place in the InSilicoWorld Community of Practice, an online forum for experts in in silico medicine. The experts involved identified 46 descriptions of possible CoUs which were organised into a candidate taxonomy of nine CoU categories. Examples of 31 CoUs were identified in the available literature; the remaining 15 should, for now, be considered speculative

Affective Medicine: a review of Affective Computing efforts in Medical Informatics

Background: Affective computing (AC) is concerned with emotional interactions performed with and through computers. It is defined as “computing that relates to, arises from, or deliberately influences emotions”. AC enables investigation and understanding of the relation between human emotions and health as well as application of assistive and useful technologies in the medical domain. Objectives: 1) To review the general state of the art in AC and its applications in medicine, and 2) to establish synergies between the research communities of AC and medical informatics. Methods: Aspects related to the human affective state as a determinant of the human health are discussed, coupled with an illustration of significant AC research and related literature output. Moreover, affective communication channels are described and their range of application fields is explored through illustrative examples. Results: The presented conferences, European research projects and research publications illustrate the recent increase of interest in the AC area by the medical community. Tele-home healthcare, AmI, ubiquitous monitoring, e-learning and virtual communities with emotionally expressive characters for elderly or impaired people are few areas where the potential of AC has been realized and applications have emerged. Conclusions: A number of gaps can potentially be overcome through the synergy of AC and medical informatics. The application of AC technologies parallels the advancement of the existing state of the art and the introduction of new methods. The amount of work and projects reviewed in this paper witness an ambitious and optimistic synergetic future of the affective medicine field

VCU Media Lab

We propose the establishment of a VCU Media Lab – a professional creative media technology unit whose mission is to support the development, design, production and delivery of innovative media, multimedia, computer-based instruction, publications and tools in support of VCU education, research and marketing initiatives. This centrally administered, budgeted and resourced facility will acknowledge, refine, focus and expand media services that are currently being provided at VCU in a decentralized manner

The Role of the Private Sector in Training the Next Generation of Biomedical Scientists

Summarizes the proceedings of a conference to address the unique contribution that private funders can make in ensuring that appropriate and adequate training programs are available for basic and clinical research. Offers conclusions and recommendations

Technologie en innovatie in Vlaanderen: Prioriteiten.

Vlaanderen;

Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Abstracts 2005

Proceedings of the Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Regional Conference held at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 2005

From traditional essay to 'Ready Steady Cook' presentation: Reasons for innovative changes in assignments

The prose essay, case study and laboratory report, composed by individual students in isolation from their peers, used to be the mainstay of undergraduate writing. However, in recent years an array of alternative assignment types such as blogs, letters and e-posters have widened the repertoire of texts expected. This article attempts to describe the reasoning behind changes in assignment types at undergraduate and master’s level at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Data from 58 semi-structured interviews with lecturers in three UK universities is used together with course handbooks and some clarifications with lecturers via email. Suggested reasons for new assignment types are grouped into three categories: external, lecturer-driven and student-driven. The article surmises that, because of these pressures, students are now expected to produce a wide variety of text types, and greater attention should be paid to guidance in new assignments for both native and non-native speaker students