Before I start this new series on Web Technology and Physiotherapy I would just like to announce that I have been invited to present at CSP Congress in Liverpool in October.   As part of the leadership and education strand I will be giving the following presentations:

• Physiopedia – opportunities for education and CPD – Saturday October 16th at 9am
• eCPD – Sink or Swim? – Saturday October 16th at 11am

So come along and join in the fun, it would be great to see you all there!!

Physiopedia – Opportunities for Education and CPD

Physiopedia is an open-source, non-profit project which aims to offer an evidence-based resource for rehabilitation professionals world wide. Written by physiotherapists for physiotherapists, Physiopedia has the potential to impact learning and evidence-based practice for clinicians, educators and students alike.

Through utilising collaborative wiki technology Physiopedia is a place where all physiotherapists can participate by contributing, sharing and building knowledge. Clinicians have the opportunity to use Physiopedia as a route to further knowledge and professional development. For educators there is an opportunity to involve students in this knowledge creation process as part of undergraduate or postgraduate education.

Physiopedia has been proven to be an effective on-line learning tool and collaborative environment. Examples of previous student projects from around the world will be highlighted as will examples of individuals independently using Physiopedia to enhance their learning. Potential projects and utilisation of Physiopedia will be explored with reference to education and continuing professional development. This session will primarily be of interest to educators but any physiotherapist interested in becoming involved in this online, evidence-based resource will find the session a useful and informative starting point.

eCPD – Sink or Swim?

Would you like to do your CPD for free and at a time that suits you? Do you struggle to keep up with new Web technologies? Are you overwhelmed by all the information available? If the answer to any of these questions is yes then you may find this presentation useful.

Recent developments in Web technology are presenting us with increasing opportunities to engage in continuing professional development on-line (eCPD). This can be a cost effective and time efficient adjunct to traditional approaches to CPD. The evolution of Web 2.0 technologies enables us to engage and interact on-line in a multitude of ways. Applications such as blogs, wikis and content sharing sites allow us to become involved in content production, networking and collaboration. Not only does this allow us to learn directly from the experts but also to contribute ourselves to the constantly expanding Web of information. The problem then arises with the amount of information that is available on the Web which can quickly become overwhelming. Keeping our heads above water at a time when information overload is an ever present threat requires physiotherapists to develop key skills of aggregation, filtering and critical review of this plethora of information.

This presentation will provide physiotherapists with ideas to engage in autonomous and collaborative learning on-line for continuing professional development. It will equip you with keys skills and tools to aggregate and filter information that is pertinent to your work and provide you with the ability to swim in the expanding oceans of on-line information.

Liverpool blessed us with fantastic sunny weather for this years CSP Congress which made for some lovely fresh air breaks in between the packed itinerary.   The buzz that opened the meeting remained right through until the very end but culminated on Friday evening at the drinks reception where CSP committee members could be seen ‘bopping’ away to The Beetles tribute band!

Having live blogged from the entire education and leadership strand I felt like I really became quite involved in this little corner of congress with other regulars to these sessions.   There were some great presentations, Clare Farrance with her report from Iraq was a highlight for me, and a good selection of research reports on innovative developments in education.   The leadership aspect included a lot of management speak but also some interesting insights into the movement to bring leadership into physiotherapy from the very start of an undergraduates life right through their career.

Roll on next year, and my vote is for Hans Rosling to do the Keynote?!

Simon Curran presented his project from Liverpool university that is using pre recorded lectures to support PBL in neurorehabilitation.   The emphasis was on active student centred learning with PBL scenarios.   The students watched pre-recorded Camtasia resources with embedded video.   The benefits of this pedagogy for the students and staff were discussed.   It was also evident that the resources were reused by students prior to exams.   Feedback from students was positive which provides encouragement for developing further e-learning resources of this style.

The Acute Illness Management (AIM) course was first delivered by MMU in 2008.   Suzanne Gough presented the results of an evaluation which compare pre and post course AIM questionnaire scores relating to knowledge acquisition, perceived skills and perceived confidence in AIM.   The findings were that the AIM course promotes AIM knowledge acquisition.   The AIM course increased student self perceptions of having the skills and confidence to manage acutely ill patients.   The key message was that physiotherapy and nursing students can gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to manage acutely ill patients pre-registration.