TK3 eBook software to author, distribute, and use electronic course content for medical education.

Full Abstract

The methods for authoring and distributing course content are undergoing substantial changes due to advancement in computer technology. Paper has been the traditional method to author and distribute course content. Paper enables students to personalize content through highlighting and note taking but does not enable the incorporation of multimedia elements. Computers enable multimedia content but lack the capability of the user to personalize the content. Therefore, we investigated TK3 eBooks as a potential solution to incorporate the benefits of both paper and computer technology. The objective of our study was to assess the utility of TK3 eBooks in the context of authoring and distributing dermatology course content for use by second-year medical students at the University of Utah School of Medicine during the spring of 2004. We incorporated all dermatology course content into TK3 eBook format. TK3 eBooks enable students to personalize information through tools such as "notebook," "hiliter," "stickies," mark pages, and keyword search. Students were given the course content in both paper and eBook formats. At the conclusion of the dermatology course, students completed a questionnaire designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the eBooks compared with paper. Students perceived eBooks as an effective way to distribute course content and as a study tool. However, students preferred paper over eBooks to take notes during lecture. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that eBooks provide a convenient method for authoring, distributing, and using course content but that students preferred paper to take notes during lecture.

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Author information

Author/s: Morton, David A (DA); Foreman, K Bo (KB); Goede, Patricia A (PA); Bezzant, John L (JL); Albertine, Kurt H (KH);

Affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah 84132, USA. david.morton(-atsign-)hsc.utah.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Evaluation Studies; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Advances in physiology education (Adv Physiol Educ), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Mar; vol 31 (issue 1) : pp 55-61

Dates: Created 2007/02/28; Completed 2007/03/16; Revised 2007/11/15;

PMID: 17327584, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Anatomy - education
Computer-Assisted Instruction - methods
Curriculum
Data Display
Dermatology - education
Education, Medical - methods; organization & administration
Educational Measurement

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