Web-based learning: pros, cons and controversies

Abstract

-Advantages of web-based learning (WBL) in medical education include overcoming barriers of distance and time, economies of scale, and novel instructional methods, while disadvantages include social isolation, up-front costs, and technical problems. Web-based learning is purported to facilitate individualised instruction, but this is currently more vision than reality. More importantly, many WBL instructional designs fail to incorporate principles of effective learning, and WBL is often used for the wrong reasons (eg for the sake of technology). Rather than trying to decide whether WBL is superior to or equivalent to other instructional media (research addressing this question will always be confounded), we should accept it as a potentially powerful instructional tool, and focus on learning when and how to use it. Educators should recognise that high fidelity, multimedia, simulations, and even WBL itself will not always be necessary to effectively facilitate learning.KEY WORDS: distance learning, e-learning, instructional design, instructional method, internet, medical education IntroductionThe internet is more frequently becoming a part of our daily lives, and its presence in medical education is unmistakable. Web-based courses seem to dominate the attention of educators and students. If presentations at international conferences are any indication, the interest in this new instructional medium is indeed commanding. At the 2005 meeting of the Association for Medical Education in Europe, for example, at least 104 presentations dealt with various aspects of web-based learning (WBL). 1 But is all this hype warranted? Is WBL really all it is cracked up to be, or is it just a fad? This article will attempt to answer that question. What is web-based learning?Web-based learning encompasses all educational interventions that make use of the internet (or a local intranet). There are currently three broad classifications or configurations within WBL: tutorials, online discussion groups, and virtual patients. The distinctions between these configurations are often blurred, and in fact a given WBL intervention might use a combination of two or three, but the implications for teaching warrant a conceptual, albeit at times arbitrary, separation.Online tutorials are similar to face-to-face lectures. They generally consist of information structured by the teacher in a way that will (hopefully) facilitate learning. Tutorials are often enhanced by features such as multimedia (sound, pictures, movies, and animations), links to online resources (full-text journal articles or related websites) and other areas within the course, and self-assessment tools. Effective online tutorials often also make use of patient cases.Online discussion is similar to the face-to-face small group session. As with any small group, there may be an element of didactic teaching from the instructor (eg a brief tutorial) but the heart of the teaching lies in group discussion. Teachers take on the role of facilitators -defining the scope of the disc...

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