Biomedical Research Education & Training Web-Based Applications,Management, and Delivery

How does the educational technology work in Biomedical Research Education and Training? Does it improve the efficiency and productivity of the office? Is it cost-effective? Does it help us help our students? Does it offer us anything that we could not have done equally well in the decade previous to this? The Office of Biomedical Research Education and Training (BRET) is responsible for furthering the educational and career goals of the graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. We have taken the position that technology would offer us major advantages in administration and teaching and have embraced this approach wholeheartedly over the last three years. As will be described, the results appear to support our optimism in utilizing this approach. The primary functions of this office are recruiting, finding resources, educating, and providing career development assistance for young scientists. We have used the web and its database capabilities extensively in almost every aspect of our mission. The Educational Technology Unit designs and develops interactive web-based applications that provide user-specific information for young scientists, investigators, and communities. We will discuss the details of this approach in this presentation.

1. Design and develop educational technology tools, primarily using the World Wide Web, for effectively recruiting young scientists to Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
2. Design and develop interactive web-based applications that facilitate recruiting and the process of getting funds and resources for young scientists.
3. Design, develop, and test educational technologies to enhance teaching, learning, and instruction for young scientists.
4. Design and develop the technology to enhance career development for young scientists.

It is the view of the Educational Technology Unit that one path toward simplification lies in the identification of different categories of technology that can support different learning and teaching strategies. While by no means exclusive, this categorical identification helps illustrate the point that not every strategy can be supported by any or every technology. More specifically, educators need a variety of tools to accomplish the multitude of objectives associated with a given curriculum.

No single piece of software or hardware can be expected to address all of the classroom needs. Sorting educational technology by category of use is a step toward learning how to apply the right technology tool toward a given objective. The main function of the Educational Technology Unit is curriculum and instructional systems design. However, within the broader interests of the BRET office we find that activities such as recruiting good graduate students and managing educational programs also need technology to enhance the capabilities of the office.

The Educational Technology Unit assembles talented teams of educators, designers, and programmers to develop and implement creative approaches to presenting information using computer technology, such as: Designing and developing web-based application that contains useful information for students and communities, Designing meaningful logos for the organization to incorporate into the web, PowerPoint presentations, and other electronic documentation. Using instructional design to provide a variety of programming instructions to support teaching and learning in the classroom and in online class materials, Evaluating computer-based instructional and testing materials, Producing Course Materials for Students to take home for their enrichment. This service relies on the course requirements, for example, a supplemental CD for protein structure.

The ETU has provided demonstrable advantages in several categories of application of educational technology, such as:

1. Using web-based applications and databases to support recruiting in the Ph.D. and M.D./Ph. D. programs.
2. Using web-based applications to provide current faculty information necessary for preparing grant proposals for funding support.
3. Using web-based applications to support the education of young scientists enrolled at Vanderbilt University.
4. Using web-based applications to provide career development resources for young scientists at Vanderbilt University:

Chanchai McDonald, Ph.D.
Biomedical Research Education and Training
506 Light Hall, Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN 37232
Phone: (615) 322-4708
Fax: (615) 343-0749
Email: chanchai.mcdonald@mcmail.vanderbilt.edu
Website: http://bret.mc.vanderbilt.edu/edtech/html/chanchai.htm

CO-AUTHORS:

Roger Chalkley, D. Phil.
Biomedical Research Education and Training
506 Light Hall, Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN 37232
Phone: (615) 343-7251
Fax: (615) 343-0749
Email: roger.chalkley@mcmail.vanderbilt.edu
Website: http://bret.mc.vanderbilt.edu/bret/html/roger.htm