As a start to LRNT 526, we were divided into groups and tasked to investigate a learning event delivered through a technology of our choosing.  Our team selected Coursera as the technology, which is a learning platform that offers Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The learning event we selected is “”Virtual, Mixed, and Augmented Reality”, which is the second module in a larger course called “New Technologies for Business Leaders”.

Prior to starting the team portion of this assignment, I had very limited, but positive, previous experience with Coursera. Through the MALAT program, the concept of open-learning has been one of interest, and I am happy to gain some first-hand personal experience through this assignment.

After being able to utilize Coursera more to explore our selected module, I can see that this learning technology has many positive aspects, such as, ­­­­­­­­­the ability to search for thousands of topics spanning across many different contexts, and the wide-range of free offerings the site provides. While there were some critiques that I had of our learning event, the majority of these actually fell to the course content and design, rather than Coursera as the learning technology.

What I have really taken away since starting this group assignment is more insight into the topic of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), specifically around its use in medical training. This is a topic that I have really become interested in since starting this program because I work in medical education at a hospital, and has recently become even more relevant in my professional life as our organization was awarded a $1 million grant to support the integration of VR into medical training. (Gillies, 2023).

The issue I am interested in examining further is how VR can enhance medical education while paying close attention to key considerations to be addressed when implementing a VR medical education program.

References

Gillies, C. (2023, January 24). Barrie manufacturer donates $1 million for cutting-edge medical education at RVH. CTV News Barrie. https://barrie.ctvnews.ca/barrie-manufacturer-donates-1-million-for-cutting-edge-medical-education-at-rvh-1.6244615