Development and Implementation of Digital Teaching Files for Small Group Tutorial by Using Commercially Available Software

• Main Authors: Yu-Ren Chou, 周裕人
• Other Authors: 郭敏光
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2004
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/93945995200669637673

碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 臨床牙醫學研究所 === 92 === The curricula reform of Oral Pathology and Oral Diagnosis in the National Taiwan University had been conducted since 1997. We used conventional whole-class lecture to teach students the basic knowledge of oral pathology and small group tutorials to discuss clinical cases. In order to conduct the small group tutorials, we built an internet server and established a method for digital teaching files (DTF) construction. After DTF had been made, the files were transferred to the internet server. Then the students and tutors could download and view the DTF from the web pages a week before the class. Until now, this new teaching method, small group tutorials, have been used for more than 6 years. The purposes of this study were: 1) To create a series of standard procedures for digitizing information of clinical cases and digital teaching files creation. 2) Building up an internet server and a download page which contained a PHP script. 3) Using the template of PowerPoint for clinical cases creation and define optimal preference settings during the PDF converting process. 4) Using questionnaire to obtain students’ opinions concerning the effectiveness of the DTF. The results, using off-the-shelf commercially available software, can meet our requirements. To begin with the data of clinical cases were digitized by a slide scanner or a flat scanner. Then we utilize PowerPoint and a prefabricated template to make original teaching files. Those files were converted to PDF files by the software which is named Acrobat Distiller. And the optimal preference settings during the PDF conversion were “100dpi”, “low compression” and “optimized”. These setting have got a favorable compression rate under the image quality control of bared-eyes. Then the PDF files were transferred to the internet server. Besides, the download homepage containing a PHP script can auto-link the uploaded PDF files to itself. The automatic linking processing makes the management of website easier. We have implemented small group tutorials into the oral pathology and oral diagnosis curricula for clinical cases teaching since 1997. 80% of the students were satisfied about the image quality of the DTF. We suggest that using the proper off-the-shelf commercially available software can reach our need. Teachers can make their own digital teaching files by using the method we developed.