Cases are powerful e-learning tools

Cases are commonly used in traditional education. In medical school they see them as they do hospital rounds, in law school they study from them extensively, and in training it’s common to use cases in built simulations. We, however, don’t see them used enough in e-learning and when we do, we do not take full advantage of the capabilities of the online medium.

Taking advantage of the medium does not mean using complex technology or large amounts of bandwidth. One takes advantage of the online medium when the user can interact effortlessly and is able to make decisions that affect the outcome of the case.

For example, I have worked on medical online cases. The learner is presented with a patient complaint, the learner can then inquire about the patients health, social, and family histories. The learner can follow up by referring the patient, performing tests (blood, scans, etc.). Then the learner is provided feedback not only of the test and consultation results but also the relevance of the test performed. This is followed the ability to select a diagnosis and once that is correctly done the learner can determine the treatment.

The above is done successfully with html and some java script. In the near future we will switch to flash. The point is, cases and be very effectively carried out with the technology we have at hand.

Why are they successful learning tools? Because they keep us engaged, involved in an interactive exchange, and thinking creatively to resolve the problems. In addition the resemblance of cases with real world situations keep us motivated as we truly feel we are preparing to confront our future challenges.

If as an educator you have not used cases do take time to consider using them, you will be glad you did.