The Pentalfa project. 4: Educational aspects

Abstract

A distance continuing medical education programme was established at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven using multipoint videoconferencing via ISDN lines at 384 kbit/s. During each academic year, 24-26 sessions were organized. During the first three years, a questionnaire was completed by 29% of the 13,489 participants. The effects of the videoconferencing on the information content and the educational effectiveness of seminars was analysed. Overall, participants were satisfied with the educational approach. Fifty-six per cent of the participants found the Pentalfa session easier to follow than conventional seminars. Participants at the peripheral sites and older participants gave higher ratings of the information content and educational effectiveness of the programme than other participants. The training of speakers and moderators was seen as useful, but most speakers could adapt themselves quite easily to the new medium.

The Pentalfa project. 3: Participant evaluations of the interactivity of the educational videoconferences and the effectiveness of project promotion

“…Medical seminars are an interactive form of education intended for large groups of physicians. In the Pentalfa project, weekly sessions, held in the evening, between five sites using a multipoint videoconference were organized; these each dealt with a different medical topic, presented and treated in a multidisciplinary way [1][2][3] . Each session contained oral presentations followed by an interactive question and answer session, and ended with a multi-site panel discussion.…”

“…Several strategies were developed to obtain the best interaction between the different sites. First, the videoconferencing bridge was equipped with a 'continuous presence' option [1][2][3] . This software allowed a view of the different locations to be projected as a single split-screen image and supported discussion between all sites.…”

“…Second, a moderator was present at all the locations to encourage and control the discussion 1 . An excellent moderator is indispensable in interactive videoconference discussions, probably even more so than in face-to-face formal debates, since direct knowledge of what is going on in a peripheral location is less evident, although the split screen partly resolved the problem 3 since all locations could see each other.…”

“…We investigated how the participants evaluated the interactivity [5][6][7] of the educational sessions in the Pentalfa project and how they had come to hear of the sessions offered. A questionnaire was given to all participants [1][2][3] . This was completed by 3864 of the 13,489 participants present at 74 sessions during the three-year evaluation period (a 29% response rate).…”