E-learning in medical education.: Guidelines for successful use in paediatrics

E-learning has great potential in medical education that has yet to be fully discovered. To adopt e-learning successfully, various factors play a decisive role, including a sound educational design, support structures and curricular integration. Important factors for the development of e-learning materials are an efficient educational design with reasonable learning objectives and media, a high level of didactic interaction, and adequate complexity and cognitive load. This is in addition to having helpful feedback and a high degree of authenticity as well as being up-to-date and easily applicable. Interactive case-based learning programs designed according to the above-mentioned criteria-"virtual patients"-foster learning of applied knowledge and are particularly suited for education in paediatrics. Central support structures and well-designed curricular integration scenarios are essential for the long-term success of e-learning.