This stimulating conference last month was attended by Lisa McLaren, our BSMS Librarian, along with members of the BSMS TEL team who presented and submitted posters. You can read Lisa’s account of the event below.
“The overarching themes of the conference, now in it’s fourth year, were around widening participation and the increasing uses for technology in the medical classroom and beyond. We had access to a range of keynote speakers, workshops, shorter talks and a poster presentation, as well as some excellent opportunities to network with health care staff and academics from around the region.
“Dr Jennifer Cleland’s keynote speech focused on the work carried out to date to improve access to medical school for non- traditional students and, crucially, the work that is still to be done, particularly around decreasing the Foundation Year drop out rates, which Graeme Dewhurst of Health Education England also touched on, in his closing remarks.
“Many of the break-out sessions throughout the day looked more at technology, with an excellent workshop from Tim Vincent and Claire Smith about easy ways to enhance your teaching using technology, including ideas like:
- using Slack for groupwork
- use of Nearpod to enhance powerpoint sessions
- using simple tools nearby, such as your phone, for recording sessions
“One of the most valuable insights the day gave me, was the number of workshops and short talks that looked at the non-conventional uses of technology, often in remote areas or out with the classroom. I think this has implications for how we spend money on resources down the line, and it was really useful to hear about the use of WhatsApp, videos and podcasts to aid learning in Zambia, where paper resources are at a premium, but also to hear what foundation doctors use for personal development, when their access to University resources dries up, and actually how some of these resources are starting to overtake journal use amongst younger cohorts. I found a lot of food for thought and a number of resources to follow up on.
“There was a lot of exposure for the work of the BSMS TEL team: Tim Vincent ran his own workshop, which was well attended, submitted a poster on the CAPSULE project and acted as photographer and general tech support throughout the day, whilst CJ Taylor had a poster on display, around the development the online anatomy lab, and set up the visuals for the foyer and break out spaces.”
