E-learning and all that jazz.

The article presents several news updates related to electronic-learning in medical education In Great Britain. The need for handouts in a web-enhanced component of a curriculum was a topic discussed recently at the DR-ED Website. It was noted that having put material on the web, there was reluctance from staff to provide students with printed handouts. Some schools have changed from digital and paper handouts to digital only. There is a clear need for further study of how students interact with web-based material and to what extent summaries in hard copy or electronic format are necessary or advantageous and how these should be embedded within an electronic-learning programme. In Great Britain the Joint Committee of Higher Surgical Training has developed over the past two years a Website for surgical trainers and trainees to access information about the learning objectives of the training programme. The core of the site is a comprehensive description of the annual milestones trainees should achieve.