Welcome to CORTEX

Welcome to the CORTEX site. This site aims to promote and support the development and adoption of eLearning within the Cardiff University School of Medicine. The site is currently a work in progress but will eventually provide access to a range of tutorials, case studies and policy documents to help educators adopt technology into their teaching practices. Read more...

Tuesday, 29 January 2013

Cardiff Player Video Hosting

Cardiff Player is a new dedicated streaming-media server available for uploading and hosting video content at Cardiff University. The server is powered by Helix Media Library, a system which batch-encodes different video formats to H.264, which is supported by HTML5. The resulting upload is then assigned with a unique link, which can then be distributed as desired to a range of platforms, for example, Learning Central.

Friday, 18 January 2013

Second-Phase Virtual Patient Literature Review

We are returning focus to case-based online content and how 'virtual patient' encounters may be developed and integrated into curriculum. A comprehensive review was undertaken a few years ago and revealed how a number of national and international medical schools were making use of various virtual patient authoring tools available at the time. The study brought a number of pedagogic principals to light and suggested a basis on which to develop a system. The full review can be accessed here.

However, the perceivable changes in the development of software and devices since then have given cause to re-evaluate how case-based online resources are being developed and delivered. For example, the advent of HTML5 and increasing use of smartphones may have dictated some degree of change in approach to development and deployment of content.

A new review will firstly conduct a review of widely used authoring systems and the gathering of information relating to the success of their use within various settings across different medical education institutions. If you have any thoughts or experience of the implementation of current clinical scenario-based study resources, then please do comment and share.

School of Medicine E-Learning Team

Wednesday, 31 October 2012

Recording Audio Using Software From The Internet

Using Recording Software Which Requires Download & Installation From The Internet

If you are in a position to download and install software from external websites, it is possible to source tools which are relatively easy to acquire and use, without the various limitations of those already existing on your computer. (see previous article: Quickest Way To Record Audio On A PC Or Mac)

Weeny Free Audio Recorder (Windows Only)



Advantages
Easy to use - A couple of clicks to finish audio recording.
Free to use - 100% free to download, install and use, no extra fee.
Free Audio Recorder - Record any sound on your computer.
Support Many Formats - Sounds can be saved in WAV, MP3, OGG or WMV format.

Disadvantages
Not available for Mac OSx.
Requires care not to install extra unwanted software! (see below)

Important Notes For Installation (READ CAREFULLY).

1/ Download from Weeny Software and install, accepting the License Agreement.
2/ When prompted, UNCHECK the three checkboxes which relate to the extra software then click 'Decline' in the bottom left corner.




3/ When prompted, click 'Decline' for the following dialogue box.



4/ The audio software will then complete installation as normal.

For support using this software, please contact the e-Learning Team