Koch Michael, Fischer Martin R, Tipold Andrea, Ehlers Jan P
University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany.
J Vet Med Educ. 2012 Fall;39(3):283-96. doi: 10.3138/jvme.0911-097R.
In veterinary medicine, there is an ongoing need for students, educators, and veterinarians to exchange the latest knowledge in their respective fields and to learn about unusual cases, emerging diseases, and treatment. Networking among veterinary faculties is developing rapidly, but conferences and meetings can be difficult to attend because of time limitations and travel costs. The current study examines acceptance of synchronous online conferences, seminars, meetings, and lectures by veterinarians and students. First, an online survey on the use of communication technology in veterinary medicine was made available for 15 weeks to every German-speaking veterinary university and via professional journals and an online veterinary forum. A total of 1,776 persons (620 veterinarians and 1,156 students) participated. Most reported using the Internet at least once per day; more than half reported using instant messengers. Most participants used the Internet for communication, but less than half used Skype. Second, to test the spectrum of tools for online conferences, a variety of "virtual classroom" systems (netucate systems iLinc, Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro, Cisco WebEx, Skype) were used to deliver student lectures, veterinary continuing-education courses, and academic conferences at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover (TiHo). Of 591 participants in 63 online events, 99.4% rated the virtual events as enjoyable, 96.1% found them useful, and 92.4% said that they learned a lot. Participants noted that the courses were not tied to a certain place, and thus saved time and travel costs. Online conference systems thus offer new opportunities to provide information in veterinary medicine.
在兽医学领域，学生、教育工作者和兽医一直都有交流各自领域最新知识以及了解罕见病例、新出现疾病和治疗方法的需求。兽医学院之间的网络联系正在迅速发展，但由于时间限制和差旅费用，参加会议可能会很困难。当前的研究考察了兽医和学生对同步在线会议、研讨会、会议和讲座的接受程度。首先，一项关于兽医学中通信技术使用情况的在线调查在15周内面向每所德语区兽医学院，并通过专业期刊和一个在线兽医论坛发布。共有1776人（620名兽医和1156名学生）参与。大多数人报告说每天至少使用一次互联网；超过一半的人报告使用即时通讯工具。大多数参与者使用互联网进行交流，但不到一半的人使用Skype。其次，为了测试在线会议的工具范围，汉诺威兽医学院（TiHo）使用了各种“虚拟教室”系统（netucate系统iLinc、Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro、思科WebEx、Skype）来提供学生讲座、兽医继续教育课程和学术会议。在63次在线活动的591名参与者中，99.4%的人认为虚拟活动有趣，96.1%的人认为它们有用，92.4%的人表示学到了很多。参与者指出，这些课程不受特定地点的限制，因此节省了时间和差旅费用。因此，在线会议系统为兽医学信息的提供提供了新的机会。
