Exploring the affordances of e-learning technologies for dietetics education and training

Abstract

Lecturers in health science education programmes wear many hats. Their undergraduate training prepares them to deliver healthcare services as clinicians. They may enter academia as clinical educators and then advance to become classroom-based teachers. It is frequently assumed that they are equipped to fulfil the role of teacher. This was certainly the route that I followed. As a digital immigrant, my standard teaching tools were lectures supported by text-laden PowerPoint presentations. The realisation dawned that this approach was failing to meet the expectations of digital-age students – it not only favoured student passivity, but was also a missed opportunity to demonstrate responsible use of technology for communicating information to colleagues and clients in the workplace.