Handhelds in clinical medical education come of age only when the free, open tools for maximizing their potential are realized. This project involves one of these required free, open tools: a robust software suite for delivering online course content onto handheld devices.

The course material is constructed using standard HTML/XML for maximum portability, and made available on either the Internet or private Intranet. A desktop software executable exists on students' desktops. At intervals specified by the student, the software draws the content from the server, intelligently converts it to the handheld format, and installs it onto the handheld to be read with the handheld software.

The desktop software organizes a full suite of over 45 customizations of handheld content into an intuitive visual interface, allowing users to tightly customize areas such as scheduling, filtering, compression, image handling, and syncing. The handheld software contains the mature features to deliver modern course content on handhelds, including 16-bit color images, rich hypertext formatting and hyperlinking, tap/button/gesture navigation, autoscroll, beaming, and storing content on removable card media, while still maintaining a small size and fast speed. Interfaces for the software are translated into many of the world's languages, allowing students, and educators to use their tools in their preferred language.

The handheld software was created in native C for optimum performance on the small devices. The desktop software was developed in cross-platform C++, with the desktop software available across Macintosh, Windows, and Linux computers. The platform uses standardized Internet protocols throughout. The platform is secure, with no communication to third party servers to compromise private data. The developed software is free of charge, requiring neither fees at the server end nor tolls for handheld users. Furthermore, all sourcecode is made available, allowing both customization and further innovation in the medical education realm.

The presentation will begin by introducing the desktop and handheld software to the conference members, briefly discussing the interface environment and usage. Online courseware delivered to handhelds using the software will then be demonstrated. Finally, qualitative evaluation of the software using a select sample of medical students will be presented, along with outcome data describing faculty response.

BENEFIT TO PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING SESSION:  

The initial few handheld presentations were received very well in Munich, as medical educators looked at what PDA software they could use immediately in helping their students. In speaking with many of last year's attendees, it was agreed that a free content delivery solution is what was needed to truly mature the future of handheld medical education at the university level. This project is going to be a strong addition to unveil at the conference program, since it exactly the type of innovation that so many of the attendees are seeking to see presented.

Robert O'Connor
90 Westland Square
Pearse Street
Dublin
D2
Ireland
Phone: 353-1-679-1699
Email: rob@medicalmnemonics.com