Learning and Teaching Conference 2021- Enhancing the student experience and supporting staff: The creation of a Digital Medical Education Hub

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated efforts to establish a comprehensive digital education strategy across the sector. At Cardiff University, the abrupt shift to remote learning has resulted in a university-wide restructuring of our technological support infrastructure. The School of Medicine’s Learning Technology Unit (LTU) has been instrumental in overseeing the provision of e-learning across programmes, particularly postgraduate courses. Given pandemic-related pressures placed on the LTU over the past 16 months, a group of academics within the School of Medicine took the initiative to create and formalise a Centre for Medical Education (C4ME) Digital Education Group.  

The group, chaired by Dr Athanasios Hassoulas, has been recognised for the support that it has offered to students and staff over the past year. Specifically, a series of workshops were hosted to support staff with the transition to remote teaching and blended learning. Student digital education representatives were also recruited to collate data on the student body’s experiences during the pandemic and to liaise with the group in addressing issues that students encountered, in an effort to enhance the individual as well as collective learning experience. The group has since formed two operational sub-groups a) a student C4ME Digital Education arm, and b) a Junior Doctors arm responsible for contributing to the School’s bank of e-learning resources.  

Furthermore, Dr Athanasios Hassoulas and Prof Marcus Coffey have initiated a number of international digital education collaborations, evidencing the group’s emerging international reputation as a leader in digital medical education. Recent developments have highlighted the need for a new Centre for Digital Medical Education (C4DiMEd), overseeing e-learning provisions across all institutes and programmes within MEDIC and supporting the emerging international partnerships. Furthermore, the Centre is proposed to liaise directly with the Centre for Education Support and Innovation (CESI) in ensuring that the C4DiMEd initiatives align the university’s overall digital education strategy.  

Written by Athanasios Hassoulas

Athanasios Hassoulas and Marcus Coffey will be presenting the work undertaken by the C4ME Dig Ed Group during the pandemic at the Learning and Teaching Conference. At 16:05 on the 1 of July, their talk is entitled ‘Levelling the virtual playing field: C4ME Digital Education initiatives to support students and staff’. They will also be hosting a Pecha Kucha session at 10:20 on the 2^nd of July, entitled ‘The Centre for Medical Education’s Digital Education Strategy: Developing a MEDIC Digital Education Hub’.  Register for the conference

Mae pandemig COVID-19 wedi cyflymu ymdrechion ar draws y sector i sefydlu strategaeth addysg ddigidol gynhwysfawr. Ym Mhrifysgol Caerdydd, mae’r newid sydyn i ddysgu o bell wedi arwain at ailstrwythuro ein seilwaith cymorth technolegol ledled y brifysgol. Mae Uned Technoleg Ddysgu (LTU) yr Ysgol Meddygaeth wedi bod yn allweddol wrth oruchwylio darpariaeth e-ddysgu ar draws rhaglenni, yn enwedig cyrsiau ôl-raddedig. Oherwydd pwysau o ganlyniad i’r pandemig ar yr LTU dros yr 16 mis diwethaf, penderfynodd grŵp o academyddion yn yr Ysgol Meddygaeth greu Grŵp Addysg Ddigidol y Ganolfan Addysg Feddygol (C4ME).  

Mae’r grŵp, dan gadeiryddiaeth Dr Athanasios Hassoulas, wedi cael ei gydnabod am y gefnogaeth y mae wedi’i chynnig i fyfyrwyr a staff yn ystod y flwyddyn ddiwethaf. Yn benodol, cynhaliwyd cyfres o weithdai i gynorthwyo staff gyda’r pontio i addysgu o bell a dysgu cyfunol. Recriwtiwyd cynrychiolwyr myfyrwyr addysg ddigidol hefyd i goladu data ar brofiadau myfyrwyr yn ystod y pandemig. Bu’r rhain yn cysylltu â’r grŵp i fynd i’r afael â materion y daeth myfyrwyr ar eu traws, mewn ymdrech i wella profiad unigolion a grwpiau o ddysgu. Ers hynny mae’r grŵp wedi ffurfio dau is-grŵp gweithredol a) cangen Addysg Ddigidol myfyrwyr C4M , a b) cangen Meddygon Iau sy’n gyfrifol am gyfrannu at fanc adnoddau e-ddysgu’r Ysgol.  

Ar ben hynny, mae Dr Athanasios Hassoulas a’r Athro Marcus Coffey wedi dechrau nifer o gydweithrediadau addysg ddigidol rhyngwladol, gan ddangos enw da rhyngwladol cynyddol y grŵp fel arweinydd ym maes addysg feddygol ddigidol. Mae datblygiadau diweddar wedi tynnu sylw at yr angen am Ganolfan Addysg Feddygol Ddigidol (C4DiMEd) newydd, gan oruchwylio darpariaethau e-ddysgu ar draws yr holl sefydliadau a rhaglenni o fewn MEDIC a chefnogi’r partneriaethau rhyngwladol sy’n dod i’r amlwg. Ar ben hynny, cynigir y dylai’r Ganolfan gysylltu’n uniongyrchol â’r Ganolfan Cefnogaeth Addysg ac Arloesedd (CESI) i wneud yn siŵr bod mentrau C4DiMEd yn alinio strategaeth addysg ddigidol gyffredinol y brifysgol.  

Ysgrifennwyd gan Athanasios Hassoulas

Bydd Athanasios Hassoulas a Marcus Coffey yn cyflwyno’r gwaith a wnaed yn ystod y pandemig gan Grŵp Addysg Ddigidol C4ME yn y Gynhadledd Dysgu ac Addysgu  am 16:05 ar 1 Gorffennaf. Teitl eu cyflwyniad yw ‘Gwastatáu’r cae chwarae rhithwir: Mentrau Addysg Ddigidol C4ME i gefnogi myfyrwyr a staff’. Byddant hefyd yn cynnal sesiwn Pecha Kucha am 10:20 ar 2 Gorffennaf, o’r teitl ‘Strategaeth Addysg Ddigidol y Ganolfan Addysg Feddygol: Datblygu Hwb Addysg Ddigidol MEDIC’.  Cofrestru ar gyfer y gynhadledd