Session 10 - Medical investigations, procedures and equipment

This was our last session. We covered medical instrument, procedures and tests. As usual learners were brilliant.

It was quite sad that it was our last session. One learner was delighted to be finished the other was sad and would like to continue on and learn more medical terminology. It is a pity that he didn't do medical terminology before 2007 when it was changed and only Cert III level is offered. It was very good taking learners through Basic medical terminology and Advanced terminology. They did learn a lot more.

Reflection

I have learnt a lot designing, developing, delivering and assessing this course. One of the main things I learnt is that whatever you do in f2f classes there is a way to do it online - you just have to find it!

Using Elluminate online web conferencing made the course come alive. Learners were very supportive of each other. Feedback from learners that they looked forward to Monday evenings was great as at the time I was worrying that it was becoming boring.

Feedback from learners re: learning resources was very positive. They seemed to be using all of the learning resources I provided - if a learning resource was missing from the wiki I soon got an email asking for it!

Session 9 - Written Correspondence

Policies & Procedures

We started by discussing the Policies & Procedures assignment. They had some difficulties finding things on the website I had given them. I had asked them to work together using the discussion forum but they couldn't work out how to post. Oops! My mistake. I should have given them instructions. Next time I will upload Discussion Forum Use instructions to the wiki.

Written Correspondence

Needed to determine their Word skills - used a Poll and they both consider themselves experts who know how to insert footers in documents. Found out that Stephen uses a Mac.

Used File Transfer to give them their assessment task. Which they should have no trouble with.

We discussed:

• letterheads
• footers
• medical reports
• assessment task

Last Session

Next week is the last session and as all of their assessment will be complete, I decided to do more medical terminology. We will do the medical terminology associated with medical investigations, procedures and equipment. This will be a challenge for me to prepare the learning resources before I go into hospital.

Reflection

I cannot find instructions I thought I wrote on using the Discussion Forum to the Discussion page so will have to write them after my eyes work again.

Reflecting on the whole course, I think that this is the worst mistake I have made.

Session 8 - Urinary System and Policies & Procedures

Urinary System

Urinary system went well. As well as the usual prefixes, combining forms, suffixes and the diseases & disorders that the participants pronounce and tell us the meaning of, I added the assessment tasks I use with my f2f students.

They took half of each and used a line from the whiteboard tools to match the Medical term to the definition. Then they read it to us. It worked well and gave them something different to do. Next time I will allot each student a colour for their lines so that we can tell which student did which work. 

I also put the text of a medical report on a slide and italicised the medical terms, then asked each participant to say the medical term and explain what it meant - this also worked well.

When I asked if they had encountered any problems during the week, they were a little confused about ureters and urethra. I always draw a diagram on the whiteboard of the urinary system for my f2f students so I decided to do the same. On the Problems slide I drew the urinary system and then used a pointer to explain the connections. It seemed to clarify the confusion.

Policies & Procedures

I used file transfer to send Assessment 2 to the learners. Then set about preparing them for the assessment.

I encouraged thought and discussion of the importance of Policies & Procedures by asking participants to write on the whiteboard. I approved their suggestions with a ClipArt tick

Then I asked them how they could improve their knowledge of medical terminology - how they could find out what a medical term they do not know means. Once again they wrote on the whiteboard. they came up with some great ideas.

Reflection

I am realising more and more that I can do pretty much anything online that I can do in f2f class. This has enabled me to try different things and add interest to the online sessions. My students are very supportive so I feel safe to try different things. 

Session 7 - Musculoskeletal System

Before the Session

I reviewed the presentation on musculoskeletal system that I had created for this class - once again I had to re-order the slides and check that I had not duplicated medical terms on different slides. Also reviewed my presentation on the stomach - my turn to present tonight. Found a great ClipArt of a man with a very large abdomen to add to the first page.

The Session

We started 3 minutes early as everyone was there. Started with an icebreaker which they responded well to.

Then it was time for my presentation on the stomach. My man with the fat stomach made them laugh! Great start! 

Stephen asked a question I couldn't answer so John (Tech Support for tonight) researched it and gave Stephen the information.

Musculoskeletal system went well. They really are great students - so well prepared. Needed to correct pronunciation for Stephen a couple of times but that is OK as he then repeats the word to get it correct, the same way I do it in class with f2f students.

I had a slide with a skeleton and a list of the bones and spent most of the day trying to think how to manage that slide. Stephen came up with an answer by drawing a line from the bone name to the skeleton. I would still like to be able to ask the participants to move the bone name to the bone - will have to think some more, but Stephen's idea worked well!

We finished about 3 minutes early so my timing has worked well as with the other sessions. That has surprised me as I had no idea how my timing would go and have paid little attention during the sessions although at the back of my mind I knew that I could abandon some slides if necessary. So far, it has not been necessary. Not sure how it will time with more learners.

Reflection

Session went well with learners very well prepared and engaged. Anna-Lee commented that she found learning the musculoskeletal system easier to learn and thinks that is because of the word parts she has learnt in previous weeks. I am sure that this is the reason.

I enjoyed the session although they told me that I sounded like a chipmunk at one stage. this happens occasionally  when the sound goes funny, but fortunately we didn't lose sound and it was just for a short time.

Session 6 - Cardiovascular system

Learner Feedback

It was wonderful during the week to find that Jenny had rung my online learners for feedback half way through the course and that the feedback was positive. I had been worrying needlessly!

I discussed this with Lynne tonight and she suggested that the standard format may be helping the learners by giving them a predictable format and lots of repetition. I agree with that - learners do need lots of repetition to learn.

Tonight's Online Session

The session tonight went well. We started with one learner's presentation on small and large intestine. She uploaded the presentation without any help and even used a pointer during the presentation. Fantastic presentation! She chose IBS as one of her diseases/disorders and appreciated the opportunity to research the topic as she suffers from this disorder herself. She very kindly shared her experience with the class. This added an extra dimension to the presentation.

Then we tackled the Cardiovascular system after participating in an icebreaker and a Poll. The Poll asked if they knew someone with heart disease - 100% did know someone with heart disease. We discussed the particular diseases suffered.

Then we did our usual functions of the system, prefixes, suffixes, combining forms, medical terms, diseases and disorders and abbreviations. I had also added some general questions that the learners answered well. Once again the learners had done their homework and were happy to show  the depth of their learning.

I love great, enthusiastic learners!

One ESL learner has been using the Quizlets I had created for the wiki and he has now created his own Quizlets to help him with his English - great idea that I may be able to use with the e-Mentor projects.

Reflections

Learners are showing a great affinity with Elluminate - a willingness to try things. I was surprised to see the use of the pointer in the presentation.

Great to see that my use of Quizlet has inspired an ESL learner to create his own to further his own learning.

Great session I really enjoyed it.

Session 5 - Digestive System Presentations

Only remembered that I needed a presentation on the stomach yesterday. Did a little last night then finished it after I got home at 5pm today. Actually I think it is not a bad presentation.

I was concerned about the time for today as I had asked them to do 10 minute presentations and it is easy in Elluminate how quickly you get through your ppt slides. Was concerned that it would be over in 20 minutes.

Had problems getting into Elluminate. Lynne was not available today so John was my Tech Support. His computer was playing up so we were late getting in. I was in but didn't have moderator privileges so couldn't do much. Had a backup plan - I would go out and come in again as Leanne. Anna-Lee arrived early so I explained the situation to her.

We ended up starting on time. I uploaded my ppt and started. Stephen did  his presentation on Gallbladder - fantastic presentation! He had recorded a narration and was disappointed that it would not talk on Elluminate. he knew that before he started as I had encountered that previously when trying to demonstrate iSpringFree in Elluminate.

Anna-Lee did a fantastic presentation on the pancreas. She is a natural presenter! Beautifully prepared and beautifully presented.

Stephen did his presentation on the liver. Well done, of course! Quite a bit of discussion after that presentation. John joined the discussion - he knew that Lynne had joined discussions when invited in previous sessions. And all of a sudden we had 5 minutes left of our hour. So, I really had not needed to worry that we would have heaps of time left.

I decided to finish the session a little early rather than start another session and go over time. We will have Anna-Lee present small & large intestines next week and I will present stomach the following week. That should solve my boring problem for a couple of weeks.

It was a fantastic session - great learning experience for all of us. Anna-Lee commented that she would never forget the pancreas - that is experiential learning at it's best! In fact, I was so blown away with how well they went and how engaged we all were that I forgot to show my remaining slides. John thought it was a good session, too. I'm sorry that Lynne missed it.

Session 4 - Digestive System

7/8/2012
Reflection
Session went well although I had missed a duplicate medical term in the ppt even though I checked thoroughly (I thought) after the last session. Learners were fantastic as always!

I hate to say it but I am finding the format is getting very repetitive, quite boring! Not sure what I can do about it but next session is our presentations so that will be different.

I allowed the learners to choose which digestive organs they would like to research and present net week and they both chose 2 each. In f2f classes they work in pairs to present one. I offered to present the last one - the stomach.

I discussed the format of the sessions with Lynne after the session and she made a couple of suggestions but they are not really appropriate. I will continue to think about how I can liven the sessions up.

Session 3 - Respiratory System

30/7/2012

Good to have eaten before the session.

One participant didn’t turn up but we started on time. Once again participants were great. They had some concerns that were easily resolved. No technical problems today so I included Lynne in some of the activities – Icebreaker, Poll.

Both of the students who attended are familiar with PowerPoint so that will make it easier for the presentations for digestive system. Next time I will use a Poll to find that information.

Concerns

I had duplicated some of the medical terms, etc. I think this is because I was trying to work too fast when I created the ppts and obviously didn’t proof read well enough by comparing one slide to another. I will check all of the other ppts I have created to ensure that I have not done the same thing.

This presentation did not flow well so after the session I have rearranged the slides for a better flow. Am also starting to review the other presentations for flow.

I was concerned about the student who didn’t attend as she was the student who had not learnt her work the previous week. After the session I opened my email to email her. When I checked my email I found that I had an email from her telling me that she would be unable to attend but saying that she would attend the following week. I replied to that.

In future I will check my email before the session and leave it open while the session is in operation.

Session 2 - Basic Word Structure

23/7/2012

We changed the times for this session as I was in Footscray till 4.30pm and didn’t know how long it would take me to get home. Gave participants a choice of 7.30 or 8pm start – they chose 8pm.

Changed my presentation to add a Poll to find out what time they would like the sessions to start – 100% for 8pm. So we have changed the times to 8pm - 9pm. This will suit everyone better and I will be able to eat before the session.

Session went well. One learner had obviously not learnt her medical terms or word parts and was trying to look them up, but it became obvious to her that the others had learnt them as their responses in the session were immediate, she said that she hadn’t realised that she had to learn them – will check that that is clear for future classes. With f2f sessions I usually get some learners who thought that they could get away with not learning the work. They soon find out that they do have to learn the work.

I had created cheat sheets for myself to cover me in case I went blank in the middle of a session – this worked well. Realised that in f2f classes I have all the answers in my book so consider this the same thing.

Participants had done their work during the week from the book and detailed some problems they encountered. These were easily resolved. They needed reminding about how to write and draw lines on the whiteboard – they were so good last week that I forgot to remind them – next time I will remind them before they ask. Pleased to see that they will ask if they are not sure about anything.

They were very good at dividing medical terms into word parts, pronouncing medical terms and word parts, understanding the meaning of medical terms.

Concerns

I am having a little trouble understanding my Asian learner when he just says one word/word part.

Starting to worry that learners will get bored as most of the sessions have the same format but I think about f2f classes and they do essentially the same thing each session until we get through the body systems and they have lots of fun. So, I will bear it in mind but continue with my plan and prepared presentations at present.

Lynne says that she is learning a lot!

Session 1 - Introduction

16/7/2012

I was very nervous all day. Not sure why, maybe because I had put so much preparation work into it.

Lynne & I went into Elluminate at 6.30pm and I had no problems uploading my presentation. Lynne was invaluable as she noticed new participants while I was talking to those already in the room, so she told them how to do their Audio Setup.

I had planned to use this first session to make the learners comfortable in Elluminate and then to explain how to divide medical terms.

Session structure:

·         welcome

·         explained the Elluminate window

·         encouraged learners to try the emoticons and explained their use

·         went through guidelines for online web conferencing

·         question Who are we? intended that the learners would write their names and something about themselves on the whiteboard. In fact, they wrote their names on the whiteboard and used the mike to tell us something about themselves

·         explained course structure

·         ice breaker – How do you feel about doing this course? happy/sad faces – all very positive

·         Poll – any experience with medical terminology?

·         basic medical terminology

·         shared the wiki

·         review session & prepare for next session

The learners were great they really took to online web conferencing. I extended the basic terminology section with learners dividing medical terms with lines on the whiteboard and reading medical terms from the whiteboard. They spontaneously applauded each other! A sure sign that they understood and had embraced the technology and the class!

All replied to my Welcome message on the Discussion Forum.

Tech Support:

Lynne welcomed participants as they arrived if I was otherwise occupied and explained to them how to do Audio Setup.

One participant was late so Lynne took her through Audio Setup while I continued with the session.

One participant was having audio problems so Lynne took him into the Tech Support room, dealt with the problem, sent him back to the main room, while I continued with the session.

The structure and timing worked well; the participants were great!

Concerns

Great start! No concerns yet

Preparation for Online Course

Setting up an online course is an enormous undertaking. It requires:
Planning
Why? because I was asked to set up and deliver an online course.

What? BSBMED301B Interpret and use medical terminology appropriately.

When? Term 3 2012

How?A daunting task as I have to assess spelling, pronunciation and understanding of medical terms as well as the ability to divide medical terms into their component word parts.
1. We have a Private Label Wikispace, so I will use that to provide information and learning resources for the learners.
2. Fortunately I had been practising some of the programs I had learnt as an e-champion by creating learning resources for my f2f learners. Feedback from them has been good.
3. Gained access to Elluminate for online web conferencing.

Development
Based on my f2f classes I divided the course into 10 sessions. Started to set up a new wiki with general pages for:
- Course Information
- Protocols
- Discussion Forum
- Assessment
Terminology Pages for:
- Basic Medical Terminology
- Respiratory System
- Digestive System
- Cardiovascular System
- Musculoskeletal System
- Urinary System
I created a CoolText Heading for these pages to give a consistent look to the site then began to populate these pages with information and learning resources - flash movies created with Microsoft PowerPoint and iSpringFree to give guidance to learners for pronunciation and dividing terms into word parts; Hot Potatoes crosswords, Quizlet flash cards and scatter games for practise and self assessment. Also searched for relevant YouTube videos.
Elluminate: planned the sessions then started creating Microsoft PowerPoint presentations and lesson plans to use with online web conferencing.

Reflection
Preparation of an online course is very time consuming but quite exciting. I was lucky that I had a lot of online resources already created and trialled.
Quizlets are very effective, easy and quick to create learning resources and learners like them.
PowerPoints take more time than expected for Elluminate sessions
Still not sure how to cover the reception content.