Interactive remote medical curriculum through creative technology integration - biomed 2013

By combining traditional classroom instruction with web-based educational technologies, distance education has been a reality for many years. However, limitations remain in established technologies that restrict the types of courses offered through this medium. This was the motivation for the Interactive Remote Course Delivery (IRCD) system at the Indiana University School of Medicine and our work aimed to overcome these limitations in order to allow a more interactive learning experience. What began as a need to deliver an interactive remote physiology course spurred several developments that may have the power to change the ways in which people learn, collaborate and communicate remotely. The result of extensive research brought stimulating discoveries leading to a new approach integrating separate technologies, including the combination of web-based collaborative software Adobe Connect with Polycom videoconferencing. By experimenting with the integration of these technologies we have enhanced the level of interactivity allowing the medical school curriculum to be delivered remotely.