Improving International Collaborative Computer Supported Learning of Community Health by Exploiting Socio-cultural and Economical Differences between Countries.

Bengt KAYSER
University of Geneva School of Medicine

When browsing online medical sites, it is obvious that most information is produced as well as consulted by the rich countries of the planet. Lack of connection and of relevant content for the South currently prevents Internet to play a major role with respect to a global concern such as public health. The priority needs and prevention and action plans would profit from increased exchange between the North and the South. Internet indeed fosters processes of democratization and development of health on a global level. We believe that this may be improved and accelerated by providing structure to the North-South exchange. Internet connectivity between learners and teachers from different countries allows computer supported collaborative learning scenarios that exploit socioeconomic and cultural differences between these countries. We developed a web-based learning scenario for teaching community health to medical students in Switzerland, Tunisia, Cameroon and Lebanon. The learning scenario is structured around phases and roles. In order to stimulate social interaction, the activities rely on the confrontation of different national health contexts and different health issues. The activities take place in a hybrid face-to-face and web-based learning space, regulated by the teachers. The knowledge base of the environment contains various forms of knowledge such as fact sheets, clinical cases, intervention strategies,web links and a glossary which are co-constructed by the teachers and the students. The course contents have been identified through the DELPHI method reaching consensus between health experts of the four countries. The environment interface is articulated around a graphical representation of the scenario. The lightweight web portal www.universante.org is programmed with PHP, Javascript, and MySQL and can be easily consulted through low bandwidth channels allowing students in less well connected areas to join.