The Surgical Multimedia, Academic, Research and Training Tool (S.MA.R.T.T.)
The field of medical education has consistently embraced new technologies in an attempt to improve the training process of our nation’s doctors. Over the past decade, the advances in computer-based education have led various medical schools to invest resources in acquiring new multimedia learning tools to train their students. There is a large body of information comparing multimedia teaching methods to traditional teaching methods (e.g. lecture, lab sessions, etc.). This research confirms that multimedia education is at least as effective as the standard approach, but there is no further discussion as to which design techniques are most effective. The goal of the SMART Project is to create a list of guidelines for optimizing multimedia education and to design the most cognitively efficient learning tool for various surgical procedures.
LITERATURE REVIEW: Guidelines for Cognitively Efficient Multimedia Learning Tools: A review of literature relating to educational strategies, cognitive load and interface design. [READ ABSTRACT]
EXPERIMENT: (Findings presented at the EdMedia Conference, June 2006) Surgical Multimedia Academic, Research and Training (SMART) Tool: A Comparative Analysis of Cognitive Efficiency for Two Multimedia Learning Interfaces that Teach the Pre Procedural Processes for Carpal Tunnel Release [READ]