Use of a civil discourse web site for ethics training

Ethics training was provided to first-year veterinary students using two different teaching structures in two consecutive years. In one year (group I), students worked through ethics cases individually or in groups using a prescribed format. In the other year (group II), students worked through the same set of cases independently but were required to critique postings from other students before posting their own responses using a civil discourse Web site (Odysseys2sense). After completion of the course, students in both years completed a survey in which they assessed their achievement of learning objectives and satisfaction with the course. Students in group II were less satisfied with the interactive training technique but were better able to demonstrate achievement of some learning objectives.