Analysis of e-learning resources for selected medical topics: content-related, methodological and technical aspects

INTRODUCTION: In the education of medical professionals, thorough theoretical and practical preparation of future healthcare professionals is highly important. Current developments and technological advances offer considerable opportunities for the design and construction of educational e-resources, including various types of multimedia and interactive materials. As their production is relatively expensive and time consuming, both in terms of content and technology, it is worth developing them for a wider, nationwide audience. MATERIALS AND METHODS: E-materials, such as decision-based games, educational videos, multimedia atlases, and infographics, were designed and produced for the Integrated Educational Platform of the Ministry of Education and Science in Poland as part of a national EU project for post-secondary education of medical caregivers, medical electronics technicians, and information technology technicians. The materials included topics from anatomy, physiology, lifethreatening conditions, first aid, health promotion and prevention, and psychophysical development. The research group consisted of fourth-year medical students who, as part of the subject of scientific research, performed an analysis of ematerials in terms of their educational value and evaluation of their technological aspects. Methods such as interviews, reviews, analysis, and discussion were used. RESULTS: After the analysis carried out, the main characteristics (advantages) and recommendations considered important by the knowledge recipients in terms of a) content and methodology, and b) technology, were identified. These include: a) the way the information is conveyed, visualisation of the content presented, highlighting, concise delivery of the content, motivation for learning, and b) the way the content is presented, visualization of the message, visual and auditory impact, changing the speed of content playback, ability to work on different devices. Recommendations for the creation of e-resources are: a) accuracy of the presented content, detail of the content, b) navigation, the ability to go back to earlier stages of the game, additional videos, sounds that convey the realism of the situation. CONCLUSIONS: Feedback from future users of educational multimedia materials is necessary. Their analysis should be taken into account when creating e-resources. 1) Content: content should be appropriately matched to the recipient's knowledge level, and presented in a concise manner. 2) Methodology: Multimedia should enable independent decisionmaking at different stages of learning, as well as include patterns of behaviour, especially in life-threatening conditions. It is important to highlight and visualise the content, combining visual and auditory cues 3) Technology: the content presented should reflect reality (high production quality), enable proper navigation, and be accessible on various devices.