During orientation in August 2014, all incoming first year medical students of the class of 2018 received new iPads from the School to aid in our curricular revisions. The revised curriculum emphasizes active learning principles, and we believe technology will help us achieve those goals. Also, it enables us to move to a paperless system, since the reams of paper printouts we previously distributed to students can remain electronically accessible on iPads, with students able to take notes directly on the documents and store them electronically. The student iPads are pre-loaded with apps, such as interactive reference materials, and other resources to help our students develop a deeper understanding of medical science and practice.
While most students probably are familiar with iPads and other mobile devices, they may not have used them for educational purposes. Therefore, we provided sessions during orientation and the first week of classes on using iPads in the curriculum for these incoming students. Ongoing tech support will be available to help students learn how to use their iPad to augment their learning.
Our faculty are excited to be incorporating these newer educational techniques and technologic aids. However, we don't want technology to overshadow the content and offer this Faculty Guide to Teaching with Technology as a quick overview.