Information Technology, Education and Health Care: Constructivism in the 21st century
Kevin J. Downing · Educational Studies · 2001
There is little doubt that the information technology revolution can bring substantial benefits to both patients and the health-care profession. The use of web-based distributed learning is currently experiencing an enormous growth in popularity among those employed in institutions of higher education. Despite this growth in interest, there remains misunderstanding among many of those responsible for health-care education, about the learning and teaching issues raised by the increased use of web-based materials to educate health-care professionals. This paper, while being broadly in favour of the increased use of web-based materials to improve the continuing professional development of those in the health-care professions, explores the arguments surrounding this use and sets these in the context of other developments in the higher education sector. The author suggests that there is a need to concentrate on how new developments in information technology can be best utilised to ensure that Internet-based materials are not regarded merely as a source of information, but also as a basis for more constructivist learning. The author argues that a failure to address this crucial issue will inevitably lead to missed learning opportunities in both theoretical and practical contexts.