Using Educational Technology Effectively
Using Educational Technology Effectively Heading link
We use many award-winning and reputable educational technology resources at UICOM including:
- Learning Management System (LMS): Blackboard
- Polling: Poll Everywhere, Zoom, Kahoot!*
- Study resources for students: Osmosis, Aquifer
- Video for faculty to use for instruction: Osmosis, Vimeo, YouTube, professional organizations**, etc.
- Recorded video content: Echo360, Panopto***
- Assessment and evaluation: BenWare, Qualtrics, eValue****
- Collaborative / Visual Thinking: Box Canvas
* COM does not provide accounts for Kahoot! but you can create your own
** If you want to link to a video (or other resource) from a professional organization, make sure it is ok to do so and the link is public
*** COM primarily uses Echo360, not Panopto but the latter is provided to the UIC community.
**** Peoria mainly uses eValue
Educational Technologies and Resources Not Officially Used at UICOM
This is not an exhaustive list. It includes resources we know students and faculty like to use (and sometimes in lieu of the resources we provide to them): Amboss, Anki, Boards and Beyond, Bootcamp, Pathoma, Picmonic,Sketchy Medical (part of the Sketchy series).
It might be worth faculty time to investigate these tools to see how they might include it in their facilitation of sessions. Note – we do not subscribe (pay for) to these resources for students to use and some students pay for their own subscriptions. Faculty can contact the companies to see if they will provide you with a free account.
If you are interested in pursuing a tech tool that we do not provide, it is important to ensure they are ADA compliant. The UIC Department of Disability and Human Development in the College of Applied Health Sciences (AHS) has the Great Lakes ADA Center and is a great place to consult with to make sure you are using appropriate technologies.
Below you can see some educational technology tools we use in our curriculum and how they might be utilized. You can use this rubric tool for assessing the best fit for technology you are thinking of using.
In addition, here is a list put together by ACCC to help you choose the best cloud-based storage options: https://answers.uillinois.edu/uic/page.php?id=85458 .
Educational Technology and Their Uses Heading link
Educational Technology at UICOM
| Technology | Description | Category | How Might I Use This Tool? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aquifer | Aquifer is a repository of courses that are evidence-based and peer reviewed. At UICOM, we are currently using them in multiple parts of the curriculum, including for clerkships in the M3 year. | Case-based learning | For each clerkship, students must complete 2 pre-assigned cases in Aquifer prior to starting the clerkship. The list of required cases is in Box and in Blackboard. |
| Articulate | Articulate is high-end software & a browser-based tool that ups your game with the design and development of interactive modules. It includes Rise360 and Storyline360, which are the main tools we use at COM. | Screencast software & learning module development | Because Articulate is fairly expensive, we have a limited license. Contact your coordinators or block / clerkship leads for more information. |
| BenWare / MedEd Database | BenWare, also known as the Medical Education Database, is a powerful set of applications that run UICOM exams, course evaluations, TBL, and more. |
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| Blackboard | Blackboard is the learning management system (LMS) used by the entire University of Illinois system (except for Urbana which uses Canvas). There are some functions we use in Blackboard that are quite standard and existing documentation from Blackboard and UIC can supply adequate information. | Learning Management System (LMS) | |
| Box | Box is a cloud-storage system that houses all of the UICOM curricular files as well as thousands of other related artifacts. | Cloud-based storage | Box houses the entire curriculum for UICOM. We use it to share curricular materials with students by linking to documents housed in Box to Blackboard. You can use it to store your own documents securely and share them with others. Here is a general workflow. |
| Box Canvas | Cloud-based whiteboard | You can use Box Canvas to collaborate visually on projects, ideas, and plans. | |
| Camtasia | At UICOM, some of our faculty and staff use Tech Smith’s Camtasia to create microlectures. This software can be purchased from the University of Illinois through the iBUY system or direction from the company (ask for an education discount). It is a more robust program and may take a bit to learn how to use it. Contact your block / clerkship leaders, coordinators, or other staff to get more information on using this software to create a micro-lecture. |
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| Explain Everything | Explain Everything is a tablet-based app that can be used to create short micro-lectures. | Screencast software | Here is how you can turn your slide deck into a presentation using EE: Turn your static presentation into a video. |
| Jeopardy | Jeopardy probably does need an introduction - but it is a competition-based game. | Gamification | Check out Jeopardy Labs to create games - if pay for a $20 lifetime account, you can save your games. |
| Kahoot! | Kahoot! is a game-based option to help create an active learning experience for both instructors and students. | Gamification | Contact your block leaders or coordinators for access. The college does not currently pay for accounts. Once you log in, go here: and start creating your Kahoot! There are three ways you can create a Kahoot game:
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| Osmosis | Osmosis is a web- and mobile application that makes medical education more efficient. Content from our courses is uploaded to the Osmosis system by UICOM coordinators or students, depending on the campus. |
| The system scans the text on these documents and provides relevant educational content like videos, USMLE-style practice questions, references to First Aid, etc. for students to use for studying. Here is a brief overview. Students can use it to help them prepare for class exams, Step 1, and further down the road, other board exams such as Step 2. |
| Picmonic | Picmonic is a tool that is used by many students at UICOM. Faculty can create / request a free account that gives you access to the full breadth of the program and you can use this during facilitation of sessions. UICOM does not pay for student accounts, but many students use it anyway (and pay for it themselves). Give it a test drive and work with your instructional designer to determine best practices for utilizing it for teaching and learning. |
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| Poll Everywhere | It is an application that works well for live audiences using a web browser or mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.). People participate by visiting a mobile-friendly web page for your course or via text message. Polls can also be embedded in PowerPoint, Google Slides, Apple's Keynote. |
| Here is a way to use Poll Everywhere in video conferencing, video instruction, etc. |
| PowerPoint (or other slide software) | PowerPoint is probably the most commonly used software program for presentations. | Slide presentation software | Take a look at this page for some helpful guidelines and best practices. |
| ScholarRx | ScholarRx is a web-based Digital Learning Platform that we use as a repository of high-yield information for Phase 1 students. It also contains question banks for practice answering USMLE-style questions. | Digital Learning Platform | ScholarRx content is organized as units of content called “Bricks.” Faculty can assign Bricks that are pre-existing, can annotate bricks, can clone and adapt bricks, or can create them from scratch. See this page to access the ScholarRx Deployment Guide. |
| Zoom | Zoom is cloud-based meeting software used the world over. | Web-based meeting software | Sign into, host, or join Zoom meetings: Log in screen. An app will be downloaded to your desktop or mobile device. Get Answers: Zoom provides direct support 24/7 |