Development of eMed: A Comprehensive, Modular Curriculum-Management System

Abstract

In 2001 the University of New South Wales Faculty of Medicine embarked on designing a curriculum-management system to support the development and delivery of its new, fully integrated, outcome-based, six-year undergraduate medicine program. The Web-enabled curriculum-management system it developed is known as eMed, and it comprises a suite of integrated tools used for managing graduate outcomes, content, activities, and assessment in the new program. The six main tools are a curriculum map, timetable, student portfolio, peer feedback tool, assessment tracking, and results tools. The eMed functions were determined by organizational and curricular needs, and a business management perspective guided its development. The eMed project was developed by a multidisciplinary team, and its successful development was achieved mostly by methodically identifying the scope of each tool and the business processes it supports. Evaluation results indicated a high level of user acceptance and approval. The eMed system is a simple yet effective educational technology system that allows users to evaluate and improve the curriculum in real time. As a second-generation curriculum-management system, eMed is much more than an educational administration system; it is a knowledge network system used by staff and students to transform data and information into knowledge and action. The integration of learning and assessment activities data in the one system gives a depth of curriculum information that is unusual and that allows for data-based decision making. Technologically, eMed helps to keep the medicine program up to date. Organizationally, it strengthens the school's data-driven decision-making process and knowledge network culture.

Medical student involvement in website development

“…As noted above, integration with existing university information systems, such as the Registrar's database and the university ID and password system, has reduced the amount of maintenance required by the development team in keeping user information current. The self-sustaining approach has proven helpful for other sites (Watson et al 2007). Second, the website has also been flexible to change.…”

eMed Teamwork: a self-moderating system to gather peer feedback for developing and assessing teamwork skills

“…As successive project and assignment reports are assessed the students build a portfolio of assessed reports, all stored electronically and all linked to the program's capabilities (Watson et al 2007). At the end of each phase in the program the students write a reflective self-assessment of their progress in each of eight capabilities and submit this portfolio for examination.…”

Implementation of a Curriculum Management Tool: Challenges Faced by a Large Australian University

“…With technological advancement, curriculum management and mapping can nowadays be more dynamic and interactive (Henson, 2010). Online curriculum management tools have been adopted by universities in different disciplines like medicine, engineering, social sciences, sciences and business (Cottrell, Linger, & Shumway, 2004;von Konsky et al, 2006;Watson et al, 2007).…”

“…In Australia, the application of online curriculum management systems has been in place for a decade (Watson et al, 2007). For example, in 2001 the Faculty of Medicine of the University of New South Wales developed a web-enabled curriculum management system to manage graduate capabilities, content, learning outcomes and activities, and assessment in their undergraduate programs (Watson et al, 2007).…”

“…For example, in 2001 the Faculty of Medicine of the University of New South Wales developed a web-enabled curriculum management system to manage graduate capabilities, content, learning outcomes and activities, and assessment in their undergraduate programs (Watson et al, 2007). Michael (2007) also reports on a successful implementation at University of Wollongong of an online curriculum management system to perform and enhance curriculum mapping.…”