Online lectures in undergraduate medical education: how can we do better?

Abstract

Medical education-much as the rest of the education world-has undergone significant change in the digital age. Whether through online textbooks and modules, computer-based exams, or video lectures, medical students today are expected to learn from a variety of technology-enabled modalities. Moreover, with the advent of these new modalities, many medical schools have shifted toward a "flipped classroom" model for learning. 1,2 This approach calls on students to learn and prepare independently-often from self-guided, digitalized tools-before attending live classroom sessions. This cultural shift is calling on medical educators to rethink and revamp their pedagogical toolbox. As medical students who are "coming of age" during this transitional time, we have had first-hand experience with the good and the bad of medical education, whether in-classroom or online. We have witnessed the ways in which "traditional" lectures can captivate an audience or induce narcolepsy, and conversely, the ways in which an online module can be an enjoyable exercise or a dreary chore. We would argue, however, that in many cases it is not the lecture content or the presenter's efficacy that are at fault for poor learning outcomes, but rather the inattentive design of the presentation material.