Rakesh Kumar	Gary Velan

 

iSpring Suite was used to generate 17 online learning modules from hyper linked PowerPoint shows for Phase 3 Medicine, as well as to create online versions of two lectures for Phase 2 Medicine. It was chosen over other tools as it is very easy to use, flawlessly converts complex “browse at kiosk” hyperlinked PowerPoint shows with embedded audio, and is absolutely bullet-proof. For the online versions of the lectures, the professional-looking video player built into iSpring Suite which provides useful controls for the user, was utilised and professional-looking quizzes, including activities such as crossword or jigsaw puzzles, were added along the way and as a wrap-up activity. Adobe Presenter was tried as an alternative, but was found to be fiddly and demanding to install and after installation it did not work properly (it could not handle the conversion files and discarded much of the sound data). Thus, it was concluded that at least for the current purpose, iSpring Suite was the better choice.

The advantage of having the HTML5 versions of the modules generated via iSpring Suite is that they are much more user-friendly than the CD-ROM-based versions previously distributed because they can be used on any Web-enabled device. This makes them more valuable for the senior medical students located at various clinical schools around the state. The modules also free up classroom sessions for meaningful face-to-face interactions.

Using iSpring Suite for this work was enjoyable because it is such good software and will be chosen again for future projects. If the starting presentation is of suitable quality, the browser-enabled product can be truly professional.

The online modules that were created can be viewed HERE. 

The 2015 Learning and Teaching poster for this exemplar can be found here: Engaging Students: We Can Do Better Than Standard Lectures.

The PowerPoint slides for the presentation given at the 2015 Medicine Learning and Teaching forum can be found here: Engaging Students in Lectures.

iSpring Suite was used to develop two online blended learning lessons. One lesson was on exercise for osteoarthritis and the other was on workplace injury prevention. The content of these online lessons supported the lecture material and was an opportunity for students to assess their knowledge about the content. Initially, Smart Sparrow was chosen to develop these online lessons, but it was not very easy to use so a few other options were explored with the help of an expert and iSpring Suite was selected as it appeared to be fairly user friendly. However, iSpring Suite had to be purchased as it is not supported in the Faculty of Medicine.

Due to the ease of use of iSpring Suite, combined with a lack of awareness and knowledge of other available platforms, it will be used again in the future with the aim of developing further skills to improve the blended learning experience. There is now a new version available with a few more features.