Impact of transitioning to an online course – A report from the ESTRO gyn teaching course

• Main Authors: L.T. Tan, K. Tanderup, A. Nappa, P. Petric, I.M. Jürgenliemk-Schulz, M. Serban, J.V. Swamidas, M. Palmu, S.L. Duke, U. Mahantshetty, N. Nesvacil, R.C. Pötter, R.A. Nout
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-07-01
• Series: Clinical and Translational Radiation Oncology
• Subjects: Online; Education; Training; ESTRO; Image-guided brachytherapy; Intensity-modulated radiotherapy
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405630821000562

Introduction: In 2020, the ESTRO course on image-guided radiotherapy and chemotherapy in gynaecological cancer was converted into an online version due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper describes the change process and evaluates the impact on participants compared with previous live courses. Methods and materials: The 2019 live course contained 41 h of educational content, comprising 33 h of synchronous activities (lectures, interactive activities, videos) and 8 h of homework (contouring, dose planning). For the online course, the lectures were provided as pre-course material (11 mandatory, 22 optional). Contouring/dose planning homework was unchanged. The synchronous sessions were reconfigured as six 2-hour webinars (total educational content ~38 h).Participant numbers/characteristics, engagement and satisfaction for six live courses and the online course were compared. Results: Participant numbers for the online and live courses were similar (90 vs. mean 96). There were more participants from outside Europe (28% vs. mean 18%) and more non-doctors (47% vs. mean 33%). Proportion of participants responding to the pre-course questionnaire was similar (77% vs. mean 78%) but post-course questionnaire response was lower (62% vs. mean 92%).43% participants viewed ≥75% of mandatory lectures before the webinars. 86% viewed the optional lectures. Submissions of contouring and dose planning homework was higher (contouring 77%–90% vs. 56%–69%, dose planning 74%–89% vs. 29%–57%).96% (47/49) participants rated the online course as Excellent (43%) or Good (53%). Overall satisfaction was similar (4.4 vs. mean 4.6). Conclusion: Participant satisfaction and engagement with the online course remained high despite less contact time with faculty.