No abstract

Objectives. To implement an interactive, Web-based postgraduate course aimed at improving the knowledge, skills, and confidence of health care practitioners with interest in providing pharmaceutical care to people with mental disorders. Design. The Web-based course was created in which authentic tasks and multiple modes of presentation and problem-solving were used to develop understanding of core concepts. Participants formulated pharmaceutical care plans for authentic case scenarios and cases selected from practice. Participants developed management plans using audiovisual lectures, videotaped demonstration patient interviews, and links to mental health practice tools and the literature. A combination of online discussion, collaborative and individual preparation of care plans, and peer and instructor feedback were used. Assessment. Responses on postcourse surveys showed that participants' comfort levels with providing pharmaceutical care for common mental disorders increased moderately. Three-quarters of respondents indicated that the course had deepened their understanding and enhanced their mental health practice. Summary. A Web-based postgraduate course in pharmaceutical care for patients with mental disorders was successfully implemented and resulted in a template which can be used in the development of similar postgraduate courses.

There is a growing body of evidence to show that sound implementation of information and communications technologies (ICTs) can benefit development goals. However these benefits are still far from reaching those who are most impoverished. In part, this lack of effectiveness is attributed to a lack of clarity in the theory and practice of ICT for development (or ICT4D as it is commonly known). We have sought to address these concerns by reviewing a range of ‘boundary objects’ – conceptual frameworks and participation processes – that have been used to support sustainable development projects with multiple stakeholder interests. Using Sen's ‘capability approach’ as an organizing principle, we have considered how these boundary objects can be combined to provide a comprehensive framework for sustainable technology‐supported participatory development to alleviate poverty. We consider that this framework offers an easily understandable, step‐by‐step approach to planning, implementing, and evaluating ICT4D projects, yet is based on a growing empirical research base, and points to detailed and concrete methods and tools to facilitate effective practice. By ensuring that stakeholders are central to the process right from the beginning, the framework is intended as a boundary object able to be adopted and adapted by those stakeholders to facilitate grassroots innovation and achievement of community goals as a means to alleviate poverty.

This paper describes the theoretical foundations of an online course to teach clinical educators how to convert a traditional face-to-face course for either flexible or distance delivery. We describe the design research approach to the creation of the course and the pedagogical theory behind the course development. We also present the details of the research project that we will be running including the rationale for the research, the research hypothesis and the research methodology. In concluding we give a brief outline of our experience of teaching the course for the first time.

The authors consider personalised learning in the context of delivering a specialist postgraduate course – ClinEd 711, ELearning and Clinical Education – at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland. They describe the pedagogical theory underlying the course design and their experience of delivering ClinEd 711 with particular reference to the personalised learning process that the course design facilitated. They present their research results for the student experience of ClinEd 711 and discuss changes made to the course as a result of student feedback. They make reference to the introduction of student-led modules to further personalise the students’ learning experience. ClinEd 711 is a specialist postgraduate course with low student numbers; with this in mind the authors discuss the implications of their pedagogical approach for those educators involved in teaching larger classes. They conclude their paper with a discussion of the role of the educator in personalised learning.