Moodle Innovation Learning Technology for Medical Education: From Theory to Practice

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has affected the medical and pharmaceutical education globally by disrupting traditional educational practices such as classroom-based teaching. This necessitated implementation of a distance learning via online platforms by medical and pharmacy schools around the world, including Ukraine. Aims: The short review aims at studying the global experience on use of innovative e-learning platform Moodle for distant medical and pharmaceutical education, figuring out its advantages and disadvantages for teaching medical/pharmacy students and healthcare professionals, and working out some recommendations for its further implementation in Ukrainian medical schools. Methods: For this short review, the authors relied only on accredited and peer-reviewed resources with free access articles available, such as Pubmed. The searches identified 32 full-textual content articles, of which 19 had been included in this paper and submitted to a narrative review. Results: The Moodle platform is successfully used for distant medical and pharmaceutical education worldwide, including both high and low income countries, to provide e-learning for medical/pharmacy students and healthcare professionals of different level of education, in the form of both online only courses and blended learning. The platform is a good alternative to conventional medical education with an ability to substitute hands-on teaching for video and audio materials. The potential issues related to its use include possible technical problems, i.e. insufficient technological support or Interment failure, and necessity for proper preparation of the medical and pharmacy teachers. Conclusion: E-learning via Moodle can be easily accommodated in the medical curriculum and offer an adequate alternative to the traditional teaching and learning activities, including both theoretical knowledge and practical skills acquisition. Its potential benefits clearly overweigh possible problems involved. The Moodle platform is recommended for further wider practical application for providing e-learning to medical and pharmacy students and healthcare professionals in Ukraine.