ITGP Awards: Fall, 1999

BU On-line Webcast and Archive System

Jonathan Adams
Department of Mass Communication and Public Relations, College of Communication

On October 8, 1999, the Boston University College of Communication hosted a conference in digital video, Web design, and on-line learning. More than 100 educators and media professionals participated in on-site, hands-on workshops and multimedia presentations representing the cutting edge of developments in these fields. Many others joined the colloquium on-line, through a live streaming webcast using recently released software from Sorenson and Apple Computers. The main goal of this project is to expand upon the success of this event by developing and formalizing a Boston University system for both "live" Web broadcast, and digital video archive. By webcasting two to four lectures/events per month, we intend to build a searchable BU digital video archive comprised of lectures from noted speakers making public appearances on-campus. The "live" Web broadcasts of selected campus events will have three purposes: (1)outreach to targeted on-campus students/faculty or other audiences (depending on topic); (2) outreach to off-campus global alumni and friends; and (3) as an opportunity for lifelong learning for the general public.

The archive will allow "on-demand" access to these past BU campus events, and will enhance the educational class experience of BU students and faculty by allowing revisit of key speakers and class related topics. It should be noted that past Federal Government grants have been given to selected Universities to create such a library digital archive system. If this pilot project is successful, such a federal grant may be pursued.

Safe Procedural Skills Multimedia Training Modules for Medical Students and other Medical Personnel

Kristian Arnold
Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine

Medical students must learn to perform procedures that involve the use of sharp instruments such as hypodermic needles, suturing needles and scalpels. Their first attempts are on patients. Both the patient and the caregiver are at risk for adverse outcomes during the performance of these procedures. L. K. Arnold, MD has developed a procedural training program for medical students and house staff. The program consists of live workshops in phlebotomy, peripheral and central intravenous access, and suturing. Dr. Arnold is currently working with other members of the medical school faculty to expand this program. The goal is to create a training tool and examine the efficacy of the training video to decrease the incidence of percutaneous injuries. Boston Medical Center (BMC), the primary teaching hospital for Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), has been the site of numerous efforts to improve the safety of procedural aspects of healthcare and has maintained a strong, continuing commitment to the prevention of adverse patient outcomes. This effort is partially supported by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) entitled "Grant to Develop and Evaluate Prevention Efforts Using the National Surveillance System of Hospital Health Care Workers (NaSH) to Reduce Percutaneous Injuries Among Health Care Workers" for which Carol Sulis, MD is the principal investigator. The House Officer's Association (HOA) has pledged additional support for creation of this training tool. The ITGP grant will be directed at making training materials developed under the auspices of the CDC and HOA grants accessible via the BU Intranet and the Internet.

Linear video has traditionally been used to demonstrate procedural techniques and reduce contact hours for faculty. Increasingly, visually intense procedural training is being distributed through digital formats on CD-ROM or directly on the Internet. This project will create multimedia integrated digital presentations that can be made web-accessible in the BUSM environment and manipulated to address specific teaching objectives in different courses.

An additional goal of this project is to present clinical procedures to medical students at different stages of their education, adjusted for their level of training. For example, segments of an integrated training module about suturing could be presented during basic science courses such as anatomy, histology or physiology.

Computer-based Speech and Voice Analysis System

Creating an Electronic Slide Collection for the Department of Classical Studies

Classical Civilization courses in the Department of Classical Studies must currently use a limited collection of slides. Many are in poor condition, and there are few of recent excavations, recent museum acquisitions, or of architecture, artwork and objects pertaining to the lives of women. In addition, the technology of the slide transparency has been improved in several respects by images digitally catalogued on CD: digital slides are more flexible to catalogue and use, and are longer-lasting, of higher quality, and more informative for students (since captions can be attached by slide presentation software).

A Web-based Resource for Teaching Concepts and Skills in Wound Healing, Suturing, and Wound Closure

Medical students must understand principles of wound healing and should be skilled at wound closure techniques, including knot tying and suturing. These motor skills require repeated observation and practice before they are mastered. Existing resources for teaching these concepts and skills vary in quality, and their limited availability to students precludes repetition. The purpose of this project is to build a web-based resource for a) instruction in fundamental principles and b) video demonstration of an array of wound closure techniques. Principles and techniques will be illustrated with digital audiovisual modules, graphics, and text organized on the Department of Surgery's website to allow universal access and repetitive observation of fundamental skills.

LEAP-At-A-Distance: Redesign of LEAP Course for Online Delivery

The College of Engineering offers the Late Entry Accelerated Program (LEAP) for individuals who seek to change careers and enter the engineering field. The goal of the proposed program is to resolve the proximity problem for adult students not in the Boston region by expanding the radius of participation to offer courses online to students at a distance. This proposal seeks seed money for a professional quality Betacam to record the redesigned online course for delivery to potential engineering students. Funding of this proposal will assist the College of Engineering in its continuing effort and commitment to strengthening the LEAP program by providing flexibility and availability of program offerings for potential engineering students and ultimately other graduate engineering programs.

Advanced CAD Computer Training for Theatre

This is a project designed to meet a rapidly increasing demand in the professional theatre for young designers trained in the use of Computer Aided Design. We have been engaged in one-on-one tutoring between faculty & student and student & student in the basic use of various CAD programs. With limited equipment this is both time consuming and inefficient. As the need for advanced training has increased, it has become necessary to teach in larger groups. This necessitates screen projection and networking for better control & monitoring of student work, as well as an increase in the number of workstations available on which students can access state of the art design & drafting technology.

Computer-Aided Instruction of Bioinformatics Courses

BE561 "Protein and DNA Sequence Analysis" is the first course developed for the Bioinformatics Program, a new University-wide graduate program focused on the development and application of computational methods to store, analyze and integrate biological information. Although a large number of slides and online materials (such as biological databases) need to be shown during the lectures, real-time derivations of mathematical equations are also essential. It bas been difficult to combine the two teaching modes. Another problem involved in teaching BE561 is that there is no suitable textbook available, since it is one of the first courses in Bioinformatics. I am requesting ITGP support to transform the course into a truly computer-aided teaching style, as well as to develop a course packet that will be available for the class of 2000.

Use of Electronic Technology in Medical Education: Web-Enhanced Teaching of the Medical Interview

Medical educators have been late adopters of technology. In the department of family medicine we are fully integrating technology into our clerkship, a required 6-week medical school course. We have created the Online Clerkship, using CourseInfo, hosted by BU ITC. We have support from the RWJ Foundation, and Hewlett-Packard Corp. A key component of the clerkship is training in interviewing patients. We propose an additional innovative component: videotaping and uploading of digital files of student interviews into CourseInfo, with written expert feedback. Using CI, students will view their interview, review the commentary, and discuss with faculty, and with other students, strategies for improvement.