E-learning in radiology: An Italian multicentre experience

Objective: The aim of this study was to design, deliver and evaluate an e-learning teaching programme for post-graduate radiodiagnostics training that would involve various post-graduate schools throughout Italy. Materials and methods: All of the Directors of Italian post-graduate schools of radiodiagnostics were sent an e-mail on 27 September 2010 informing them of our willingness to set up an e-learning project for the academic year 2010-2011 in the form of single-subject teaching seminars. The proposed subjects were the semeiotics of the various organs and apparatuses in the context of Urgent/Emergency Pathology. After having received registrations, a calendar of lessons was planned to be held between 10 November 2010 and 12 October 2011. The validity of the project was tested by means of a multiple-choice questionnaire covering the technical and didactic quality of the entire project, to be completed by the students. Results: Fifty-one percent of the universities in Italy participated in the project: Trieste, Udine, Verona, Milan-Bicocca, Novara, Varese, Genoa, Sassari, Rome Campus, the Catholic University of Rome, Chieti, Foggia, Catania, Modena, Florence, Palermo, Bologna, Pavia, Parma and Ferrara. The lessons were attended by a total of 10,261 post-graduate medical students, for an average of 513.1 students per lesson. Seventy percent of the students judged the didactic content excellent, 25% good, and 5% satisfactory; none said it was unsatisfactory. In terms of visual quality (particularly the details of the radiological images proposed in the form of slides and/or video clips), 73% judged it excellent, 20% good, 6% satisfactory, and 1% poor. The audio quality was judged excellent by 71%, good by 22%, satisfactory by 6% and poor by 1%. In relation to judgement of audio and video quality, it has to be underlined that this was greatly affected by the hardware/software configuration and the band speed and technology of the Internet connection. Conclusions: Technological evolution is overcoming all barriers, and technology is also having a positive impact on the approach to teaching. Our multicentre teaching experience merits the following considerations: the quality of the teaching product was certified by the students' judgements of its didactic content and the quality of reception; the economic cost of the teaching had a minimal impact on the post-graduate schools ((sic) 18 per lesson). In terms of breaking down national barriers, it is to be hoped that the coordination and integration of diagnostic imaging e-learning projects, with the participation of post-graduate schools in different European countries, can be developed not only in a spirit of cultural sharing and the exchange of teaching experiences. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.