Teaching medical students about Kawasaki Disease: The development and evaluation of a digital educational resource

IntroductionThe use of digital educational resources has gained widespread popularity across all disciplines in medical education; paediatrics being no exception. This paper focuses on the development and in particular, the evaluation, of an e-learning resource on Kawasaki Disease which was primarily developed as a revision aid for undergraduate medical students. MethodsThis digital resource was created using Xerte Online toolkit and was guided by the instructional model ADDIE. The design and development of the resource was based on Mayers 12 Multimedia Principles, while Zaharias and Poylymenakous usability evaluation method informed the preliminary evaluation. FindingsFeedback from the preliminary evaluation, which was based on the instructional design parameters of navigation, visual design and intrinsic motivation to learn, was overwhelmingly positive. However, in light of this being a small-scale evaluation conducted on just seven undergraduate students, a protocol was developed for a more in-depth and robust evaluation. Conclusions and further developmentThe evaluation of digital educational resources remains a fundamental and essential component in creating meaningful and effective e-learning material. In line with literature on evaluation of digital educational resources in medical education, the evaluation protocol set out in this paper considers three aspects; evaluating the ability of the resource to meet its intended outcomes; evaluating the ability of the resource to meet learners needs; and evaluating the educational context.