E-Learning in Medical Sciences

A practical guide to designing, producing, delivering and assessing online courses: from learning objectives to recording in the acoustic studio.

Designing an online course

Five simple steps that prevent wasted production time

Know your learners and their needs
What do learners already know and what must they be able to do? The answer sets depth and language.
Write measurable learning objectives
Start each objective with an action verb ("explain", "calculate", "interpret"). Replace vague goals such as "be familiar with …".
Break content into short chunks
One concept per chunk, roughly 5–10 minutes, with a short activity (question, case, exercise). Online attention drops quickly.
Choose format and tools
Video for demonstrating skills, podcast for discussion-style topics, screencast for software training, interactive content for decision practice.
Assess, collect feedback, improve
A short diagnostic quiz before, formative questions during, and a survey at the end. Record results for the next version.

Pick the format that fits the learning objective

Screen recording with narration for software and data analysis training. Prepare slides and windows beforehand.

Short and focused on one concept. Front lighting; clean audio matters more than a fancy picture. Record in the acoustic studio.

Good for expert discussion, interviews and journal clubs. Add a summary and timestamps.

Branching clinical scenarios, in-lesson quizzes and step-by-step practice; learners decide rather than just watch.

Light slides, large font, one message per slide. Offer supplementary resources separately for download.

Captions for videos, alt text for images, sufficient contrast, and not relying on colour alone.

Professional recording facilities are available: Book the acoustic studio

Before, during and after the session

Good assessment both measures and strengthens learning

Short ungraded quizzes during the course with instant feedback, aimed at steering learning.

End-of-course test of objective attainment; questions must align directly with the objectives.

Clear stem, one best answer, plausible distractors; avoid "all/none of the above" where possible.

Adequate time, varied question banks, randomised options and clear rules about allowed resources.

Review these before publishing a course (ticks stay in your browser only)