Simulated patients (by ellenm1)

This case study describes an initiative that used online role play to help students develop their ICT skills on an undergraduate Occupational Therapy degree course. The course used an intensive enquiry based learning approach during which students were expected to undertake electronic literature searches, communicate and share information via an online learning environment. The course attracted a diverse mix of students with varying skills relating to Information Communications Technology (ICT) and while some were very confident and highly competent in using the computer, others were less so. For students who were less confident in using ICT the emphasis placed on e-learning had the potential to become problematic. The challenge therefore was to create a learning experience where students could develop skills in using ICT. The online role play attempted to address this via simulating a series of patient interactions based on real-world scenarios. Students found this an engaging way to get used to both ICT and the professional roles they were preparing for.

You can read more about this approach in the two-page case study entitled: Using online role play to develop ICT skills

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