BackgroundThe aim of this study is to review the literature on known barriers and solutions that face educators when developing and implementing online learning programs for medical students and postgraduate trainees.MethodsAn integrative review was conducted over a three-month period by an inter-institutional research team. The search included ScienceDirect, Scopus, BioMedical, PubMed, Medline (EBSCO & Ovid), ERIC, LISA, EBSCO, Google Scholar, ProQuest A&I, ProQuest UK & Ireland, UL Institutional Repository (IR), UCDIR and the All Aboard Report. Search terms included online learning, medical educators, development, barriers, solutions and digital literacy. The search was carried out by two reviewers. Titles and abstracts were screened independently and reviewed with inclusion/exclusion criteria. A consensus was drawn on which articles were included. Data appraisal was performed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) Qualitative Research Checklist and NHMRC Appraisal Evidence Matrix. Data extraction was completed using the Cochrane Data Extraction Form and a modified extraction tool.ResultsOf the 3101 abstracts identified from the search, ten full-text papers met the inclusion criteria. Data extraction was completed on seven papers of high methodological quality and on three lower quality papers. Findings suggest that the key barriers which affect the development and implementation of online learning in medical education include time constraints, poor technical skills, inadequate infrastructure, absence of institutional strategies and support and negative attitudes of all involved. Solutions to these include improved educator skills, incentives and reward for the time involved with development and delivery of online content, improved institutional strategies and support and positive attitude amongst all those involved in the development and delivery of online content.ConclusionThis review has identified barriers and solutions amongst medical educators to the implementation of online learning in medical education. Results can be used to inform institutional and educator practice in the development of further online learning.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12909-018-1240-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundThe shift from a more didactic to student-centred pedagogical approach has led to the implementation of new information communication technology (ICT) innovations and curricula. Consequently, analysis of the digital competency of both faculty and students is of increasing importance. The aim of this research is to measure and compare the internet skills of medical school faculty and students and to investigate any potential skills gap between the two groups.MethodsA survey of medical school faculty and students across three universities in Ireland was carried out using a validated instrument (Internet Skills Scale) measuring five internet skills (Operational, Information Navigation, Social, Creative and Mobile). Three focus groups comprising a total of fifteen students and four semi-structured interviews with faculty across three institutions were carried out to explore further findings and perceptions towards digital literacy, give further insight and add context to the findings.ResultsSeventy-eight medical faculty (response rate 45%) and 401 students (response rate 15%) responded to the survey. Mean scores for each internet skill were high (above 4 out of 5) for all skills apart from Creative (mean of 3.08 for students and 3.10 for faculty). There were no large differences between student and faculty scores across the five skills.Qualitative results supported survey findings with a deeper investigation into topics such as online professionalism, use of licencing and mobile application development. Needs based skills training and support were highlighted as areas for faculty development.ConclusionBoth medical educators and students tend to have similar competencies with respect to internet skills. When implementing online and distance learning methodologies however, medical schools need to ensure appropriate skills training and support for faculty as well as providing targeted training to improve the creative skills of both their educators and students.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12909-019-1475-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Breakout groups have been widely used under many different conditions, but the lack of published information related to their use in undergraduate settings highlights the need for research related to their use in this context. This paper describes a study investigating the use of breakout groups in undergraduate education as it specifically relates to teaching a large 4 th year undergraduate Nutrition class in a physically constrained lecture space. In total, 220 students completed a midterm survey and 229 completed a final survey designed to measure student satisfaction. Survey results were further analyzed to measure relationships between student perception of breakout group effectiveness and (1) gender and (2) cumulative GPA. Results of both surveys revealed that over 85% of students either agreed or strongly agreed that using breakout groups enhanced their learning experience, with females showing a significantly greater level of satisfaction and higher final course grade than males. Although not stratified by gender, a consistent finding between surveys was a lower perception of breakout group effectiveness by students with a cumulative GPA above 90%. The majority of respondents felt that despite the awkward room space, the breakout groups were easy to create and participate in, which suggests that breakout groups can be successfully used in a large undergraduate classroom despite physical constraints. The findings of this work are relevant given the applicability of breakout groups to a wide range of disciplines, and the relative ease of integration into a traditional lecture format.Les enseignants ont recours aux petits groupes dans de nombreuses conditions différentes, cependant, le manque d'information publiée sur leur utilisation au premier cycle confirme la nécessité d'effectuer des recherches sur ce format dans ce contexte. Le présent article rend compte d'une étude portant sur l'utilisation des petits groupes au premier cycle dans le cadre particulier d'un cours magistral de 4 e année sur la nutrition dans un espace physiquement limité. Au total, 220 étudiants ont participé à un sondage à la moitié du trimestre et 229 ont répondu à un sondage à la fin du trimestre visant à mesurer le niveau de satisfaction. Les chercheurs ont ensuite analysé les données de manière à mesurer les relations entre la perception que les étudiants avaient de l'efficacité des petits groupes et 1) le sexe, et 2) la moyenne pondérée cumulative (MPC). Les résultats des deux sondages révèlent que plus de 85 % des étudiants étaient soit d'accord, soit tout à fait d'accord avec le fait que les petits groupes amélioraient leur apprentissage, les femmes manifestant un degré de satisfaction significativement plus élevé que les hommes. Elles avaient aussi de meilleures notes finales. Sans prendre en compte la stratification selon le sexe, le résultat constant d'un sondage à l'autre démontre que les étudiants dont la MPC était supérieure à 90 % avaient une perception moins élevée de l'efficacité des petits groupes. La majorit...