In 2001, the UCSF School of Medicine launched a new medical school curriculum, which included among its radical new features the electronic curriculum iROCKET. What's next on the technology frontier for medical students?

Among the curricular innovations sponsored by the Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators are research studies on integrating new technologies into the medical school curriculum. Two major initiatives are underway: handheld computing and electronic portfolios.

Manuel Pardo, MD, associate professor of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, and Meg Autry, MD, associate professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, have received Academy funding to conduct a pilot project on the use of handheld devices by third-year medical students, beginning in April 2004.

The project is designed to develop minimal standards for handheld computing devices (called Personal Digital Assistants, or PDAs), create a list of evaluated PDA medical software for clinical use, implement a PDA patient and procedure database, and provide participating students with core clerkship-related data in a PDA-compatible format.

According to Pardo, surveys reveal that 85% of UCSF medical students believe that PDAs are becoming integral tools in the medical profession. Of students surveyed, 69% currently own a PDA, most often purchased during their first two years of medical school.

"The real success of our proposal will be the spread of handheld technology among students and residents," says Pardo. "Our pilot program may lead to more widespread acceptance of PDAs."

Pardo and Autry also co-chair the Handheld Working Group of the Educational Technology Oversight Committee at the School of Medicine, which includes faculty, student, and staff representatives, and works with the Office of Educational Technology (OET) to guide the direction of educational technology at the school.

The OET is taking the lead to investigate the use of electronic portfolios among medical students. Such electronic "learning portfolios" could be used to showcase student work in process, provide a framework for instructors to assess academic progress, and demonstrate how skills have developed over time. With work becoming increasingly digitized, a portfolio model that provides a common format for text, graphics, sound and video can be extended to more disciplines and purposes.

According to ePortConsortium's Electronic Portfolio White Paper, "electronic portfolios can be much more than a website that simply organizes and presents final projects. They can foster learning spaces where the author can gain insights and a better understanding of him or herself as a learner."

"An electronic portfolio system integrated directly into the digital curriculum would create a seamless environment for the teaching, learning and evaluation of medical knowledge," says Kevin Souza, director of the Office of Educational Technology. "It would also enable students to customize the learning to their individual needs."

In addition to the handheld computing and electronic portfolio initiatives, the OET at their retreat last fall identified other educational technology priorities for the upcoming five years. These include: increasing the evaluation and recognition of digital scholarship, improving course administration and management, and integrating systems across all levels of the curriculum - from undergraduate through graduate to continuing education - to increase efficiency and share resources.

Visit the Office of Educational Technology website to learn more about Office of Educational Technology and Educational Technology Oversight Committee initiatives.