PHA-Exchange> Teaching Aids At Low Cost and CD-ROMs

[Claudio Schuftan]

> 
> Teaching Aids At Low Cost and CD-ROMs
> -------------------------------------
 
> Teaching Aids At Low Cost (TALC) expects to become a major distribu-
> tor of CD-ROMs. TALC started providing sets of 24 slides for just 6 
> old shillings (30 pence) in the 60's and reached a peak in the mid 
> '80s, with a total distribution of 7 million. Since then books have 
> become our priority with a distribution of over a million. From next 
> year we hope the distribution of CD-ROMs will steadily increase and 
> we will have a subsidiary 'e-TALC'.
> 
> Among the printed material most useful in countries of the South, the 
> free newsletters put out by such organisation as Healthlink World 
> Wide, Tear Fund, etc are read widely and popular. Thanks to a grant 
> from DIFID TALC will be opening an office in Oxford which will put 
> these newsletters and other materials on to CD-ROMs for free distri-
> bution. Oxford has been chosen because our collaborators the anaes-
> thetists are based there and there is also a pool of students with IT 
> knowledge who can be employed part time to undertake the creation of 
> easily understood CD-ROMs.
> 
> TALC has also assembled a list of at least a dozen free or low cost 
> CD-ROMs these covering a number of subjects, including malaria, or-
> thopaedics, and tuberculosis. We would hope that within a year or two 
> we could supply hospital and health units with a carefully selected 
> list of free or low cost CD-ROMs, which would cover most subjects. 
> This is necessary as in so many parts of the world access to web 
> sites are both difficult and expensive.
> 
> Our expectation is that this material will be appropriate for initial 
> and ongoing education. The senior health worker should be able to ac-
> cess in the future information on conditions such as Eclampsia which 
> can be printed off and given to students before they undertake a 
> teaching sessions involving a patient with the condition. Individual 
> students preparing to present a case would be taught to access rele-
> vant material.
> 
> For obvious reasons publishers are likely to be reticent in allowing 
> their books to be available on CD-ROMs which can be printed out. How-
> ever there are those who see the possibility of using this media to 
> be bring better health care to countries of the South. TALC hopes to 
> hear from IHE readers who know of such material.
> 
> Prof. David Morley
> mailto:David at morleydc.demon.co.uk