Integration of Internet-Based Technologies as Learning Tools in a Pharmaceutical Calculations Course

The growing prevalence of telecomputing technologies presents instructors with a wide range of options for enhancing the learning experience of students in the Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacy curricula, particularly in large-class settings. However, this wealth of technological resources consists largely of discrete tools developed for purposes other than instruction, and therefore instructors are challenged to devise a unified, integrated approach that both accommodates the very diverse experience and capabilities of students, and satisfies the instructor’s need for resilient, robust, and low-maintenance technologies. We describe here an integrated application of technologies for presenting Internet-based resources to students in Pharmaceutical Mathematics and Statistics, a course that serves approximately 100 students per semester in the School of Pharmacy at the State University of New York at Buffalo. We discuss the integration of specific resources with each other and with traditional classroom learning. World Wide Web (WWW) pages are used as repositories both for supplemental material and for archived discussions. Communication among students and instructors is managed via both direct, individual electronic mail (e-mail) and via groupdistributed (Listserv) e-mail. By these means, several objectives have been achieved. Communication among students and instructors was enhanced, and discussion among students was promoted. Ancillary course materials were provided to students in a timely and resource-conserving manner, and rapid feedback was provided to students following learning assessment exercises such as exams and quizzes. The model used for integrating Internet-based technologies in this Pharmaceutical Calculations course could be applicable to a variety of large class situations in pharmaceutical education.