From: <abstracts@gsm

AUDITORIUM PRESENTATION

 

A Web-Based Self-Directed Student-Authoring Module to Depict the Unifying Concept of Disease in Pathology Education

 

Jannie Woo, Ph.D., John Bernard Henry, M.D., Chang I. Wu, Karen Kelly Department of Pathology, SUNY Upstate Medical University at Syracuse, New York, USA

 

ABSTRACT:

An interactive Web site (http://www.ec.upstate.edu/path/) was launched in 1998 as a learning tool for our second-year pathology course, Pathology 201. It encompasses image reviews, CPC cases, case study modules, and image-enhanced handouts and PowerPoint lectures. The Web site undergoes continuous updates in keeping with Web technological advances and in synchronization with the ever-changing course curriculum.

 

A Unifying Concept of Disease (UCD) model (Henry: Pathology Education, 21(2), 4-12, 1996) was proposed as a logical lattice for identifying and describing discrete clusters of information about a disease that evolves sequentially from etiology and natural history to outcome. To facilitate learning, we developed this concept into a Web-based self-directed student-authoring module, and included it in our department Web site as a class exercise for the Pathology 201 course.

 

This module consists of a) a tutorial section describing the UCD, b) data entry templates enabling input of text and image annotations of a selected disease into a database, and c) display templates allowing formal presentation of the completed disease entities to an audience. Specifically, students are divided into groups of four. Each group selects a disease of interest and proceeds with information gathered from Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) literature searches and group review. The consolidated & reviewed data are then inputted into pre-formatted HTML templates, with designated fields for text, graphics, and image descriptions pertaining to the disease. All entries are automatically stored in a database created in FileMaker Pro (FileMaker, Santa Clara, CA); the student then uploads accompanying images to the server via FTP. The more enthusiastic students may elect to enhance the final Web page output with simple HTML scripts for text bolding, text coloring, font changing, and site linking, etc... At presentation time, the student logs onto JavaScript enhanced HTML templates to display desired disease information with image thumbnails, the latter of which may be clicked to display full size images in a popup window.

 

This class exercise has helped students gain better understanding of the UCD as a lattice for studying disease. Other benefits include an emphasis on team-work, experience in EBM searching and review, improvement in group presentation skills, and exposure to database-driven Web technology. This module may also be adapted for use as educational tool in areas other than pathology.

 

BENEFIT TO PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING SESSION:

 

Participants will see from this presentation:

1.                  How to set up a database-driven Web site

2.                  How to develop Web-based templates for data entry into a database

3.                  How to retrieve information from a database for Web display

4.                  The educational value of enabling students to create an example while learning a concept

 

Jannie Woo, Ph.D.

Department of Pathology

SUNY Upstate Medical University

Syracuse, NY 13210

USA

Phone: 315-464-6717

Fax: 315-464-7130

mailto:wooj@upstate.edu

Website: http://www.ec.upstate.edu/path/

 

CO-AUTHORS:

John Bernard Henry, M.D.

Chang I. Wu

Karen Kelly

Department of Pathology

SUNY Upstate Medical University

Syracuse, NY 13210, USA

Phone: 315-464-7186

Fax: 315-464-7187

Email: mailto:henryjb@upstate.edu

mailto:kellykc@upstate.edu