Table 1 Application of accepted pedagogical principles

Principle 1: doing domain-related practice

Learners must be actively doing domain-related practice, not listening to the experiences or findings of others.

eClinic provides an opportunity for the trainee to work out the cases.

Principle 2:ownership of the inquiry

Learners must see the dilemma as worth investing their efforts. They must feel they are responsible for the solution.

Trainee is addressed by his/her name and gets the sense of responsibility for solving the case. eClinic provides real patient data including the facial features, heart sound, MRI images, skeletal x-ray, blood film etc. It resembles real life clinic environment to ensure engagement.

Principle 3: coaching and modeling of thinking skills

The instructor's job (a real instructor or the learning system) is to coach and model learning and problem solving by asking questions that learners should be asking themselves.

Mentor in the eClinic guides the trainee through the clinic and asks questions to stimulate thinking and encourage reading the eBook.

Principle 4: opportunity for reflection

Reflection provides individuals with the opportunity to think about why they are doing what they are doing and even to gather evidence to evaluate the efficacy of their decisions. The reflective process is essential to the quality of learning.

The evaluation/feedback system in the eClinc gives the trainee the chance of 3 trials. Where the trainee gets the wrong answer, he will have the chance to rethink or even explore the e-Book for the right answer.

Principle 5: dilemmas are ill-structured

Problems to be solved must be either ill-defined or loosely defined only.

eClinic provides a large number of lab tests for the trainee to choose from.

Principle 6: support the learner rather than simplify the dilemma

The dilemmas that learners encounter should reflect the complexity of the thinking and work that they are expected to perform in the real world.

eBook provides comprehensive knowledge in one package, combining the basic science and clinical knowledge with links to reference material, journals PubMed citation, publisher of the book, websites etc.

Principle 7: work is collaborative and social

The quality and depth of this negotiation and understanding can only be determined in a social environment where ideas are discussed.

Cases in the eClinic can be used by an educator to teach the student and stimulate discussion among the group. Or a group of students can share working out the case and discussing it among themselves. Virtual e-Clinic can be used within a 'real-life" tutorial group with learners working in pairs of threes.

Principle 8: the learning context is motivating

Learners must be introduced to the context of problems and their relevance, and this must be done in a way that challenges and engages the learner.

Cases in the eClinic engage the trainee to solve the case. eBook provide lots of animation and interactive tools to stimulate and simplify the complex information. It takes advantages of the visual learning for longer memory retention.