This document discusses how social media and online networks can support scholarship at different levels of medical education. It suggests that while conferences and journals help scholars of education reflect and disseminate, there are few opportunities for educators outside their own institutions. The author explores how free tools like social bookmarking, document sharing, microblogging, and online conferencing allow educators to record reflections and have conversations across institutions. The author shares their experience building an online community of medical educators through blogging and facilitating discussions. While low cost and allowing rapid feedback, few educators currently engage with social media. For scholarship in teaching to grow, individuals must commit time and institutions must recognize the value.
This document discusses how social media and online networks can support scholarship at different levels of medical education. It suggests that while conferences and journals help scholars of education reflect and disseminate, there are few opportunities for educators outside their own institutions. The author explores how free tools like social bookmarking, document sharing, microblogging, and online conferencing allow educators to record reflections and have conversations across institutions. The author shares their experience building an online community of medical educators through blogging and facilitating discussions. While low cost and allowing rapid feedback, few educators currently engage with social media. For scholarship in teaching to grow, individuals must commit time and institutions must recognize the value.
This document discusses how social media and online networks can support scholarship at different levels of medical education. It suggests that while conferences and journals help scholars of education reflect and disseminate, there are few opportunities for educators outside their own institutions. The author explores how free tools like social bookmarking, document sharing, microblogging, and online conferencing allow educators to record reflections and have conversations across institutions. The author shares their experience building an online community of medical educators through blogging and facilitating discussions. While low cost and allowing rapid feedback, few educators currently engage with social media. For scholarship in teaching to grow, individuals must commit time and institutions must recognize the value.
This document discusses how social media and online networks can support scholarship at different levels of medical education. It suggests that while conferences and journals help scholars of education reflect and disseminate, there are few opportunities for educators outside their own institutions. The author explores how free tools like social bookmarking, document sharing, microblogging, and online conferencing allow educators to record reflections and have conversations across institutions. The author shares their experience building an online community of medical educators through blogging and facilitating discussions. While low cost and allowing rapid feedback, few educators currently engage with social media. For scholarship in teaching to grow, individuals must commit time and institutions must recognize the value.
Supporting Scholarship in Medical Education: The role of social media and networks
Dr Anne Marie Cunningham, Cardiff Universit
The problem: The model of Excellent Teachers <->Scholarly Educators <->Scholars of Education 1
suggests three levels of scholarship in medical education. hilst conferences and academic !ournals can provide the means for scholars of education to reflect and disseminate" it is less clear ho# scholarship can be supported at other levels. $incher and or% & state that all forms of scholarship re'uire peer revie# and dissemination but at present there are fe# opportunities for this outside one(s o#n institution. )nd it has also been suggested that fe# educators even participate in *critical reflection of day to day teaching+. , The solution: The tools of #eb &.- are ever changing and developing. They include social boo%mar%ing" social document sharing" .micro-/blogging" image and video sharing" and online conferencing. )s they are free to use the barriers to recording and sharing of reflection on practice are immensely reduced. 0onversations bet#een colleagues #ith shared interests in different institutions" even time 1ones" can occur. hat happened2 : 3n the past year 3 have been exploring the potential of these tools to form an online community of medical educators. The core activity has been maintaining a blog on medical education in #hich 3 have reflected on my practice and received feedbac% from colleagues in medical education" other healthcare professions" patients and students. 3 have also developed areas for those interested in medical education to participate in discussions on research and ho# it may affect their practice. The use of other tools #ill be illustrated. Strengths2: 4o# cost" rapid feedbac%" open and transparent. ea%nesses2: 5e# participants can feel s#amped by the plethora of tools available and uncertain of the time to invest. )t present there is lo# ta%e-up of social media amongst medical educators as although #e have a culture of sharing" many do not see the relevance of these tools to their practice. 6pportunities2: 7edical educators can have open and transparent conversations #ith each other" and also #ith students and patients" about ho# their #or% is developing and refining. Threats2: $e#" 2institutions are not supportive of process of creating #ea% lin%s and external net#or%s. hat is needed2: ) commitment from individuals to pursue scholarship in their teaching" the dedication of time to this process" and the recognition of the value of this activity by institutions. $urther evaluation of the benefits to participants. 8eferences: 1. 8oberts T. 7edical Education 8esearch 9 the rhetoric" the reality and future routes. :eynote Speech. )ssociation for 7edical Education in Europe .)7EE/; &--<" ,- th )ug-, rd
Sep;=rague" 01ech 8epublic. &. $inchet 8E and or% >. =erspectives on the scholarship of teaching. Medical Education. &--?:@;&A,-&AB ,. Sandars > and 7c)reavey 7>. Ceveloping the scholarship of medical educators: a challenge in the present era of change. Postgraduate Medical Journal. &--D Sep;<,.A<,/:B?1 Trigwell K & Shale S (2004) Student learning and the scholarship of university teaching. Studies in igher !ducation" 2#:$2%&$%'