E-learning courses as powerful tools for Laboratory Animal Procedures training in Latin America.

GIULIANA SCHIRATO, MICAELA RICCA, EMILIANA HERRERO, CAROLINA MOURELLE

RJ

Congreso; I Congresso Latino-Americano de Métodos Alternativos ao Uso de Animais no Ensino, Pesquisa e Indústria.; 2012

Fluminense Medical Association

Introduction: In Latin America there is still a strong need for trained laboratory animal´s workers with special emphasis in the 3Rs principles. Thus an e-learning campus is a valuable tool to mediate knowledge through demonstrative videos, theory classes, forum discussion and programmed chat sessions to open new ways of share experiences in laboratory animal sciences. Objective: The main focus is to present the value of virtual training courses about Experimental Procedures in Rodents and Rabbits in Spanish language through the virtual educational platform Aula Virtual Bioterio. Methods: The educational material was composed of notes, bibliography and multimedia presentations. After completion the readings and review materials, they make different participations in the forums. At the end of each thematic module, every student made a self-assessment test and when they end all modules they took a final evaluation. Results: The rating of the e-learning tool was 100% positive. The platform was generally accepted as a friendly tool to learn and the students were very active in the tutorial forums and achieved very satisfactory scores on their exams and also showed agreement and compromise to execute and spread the lessons learned from in their work places. Conclusion: In view of the application of the 3Rs, practical training cannot be replacing 100% by e-learning methods. But, a thorough understanding of the techniques before practical experimental procedures will help to generate conscience and prepare participants for laboratory animal work. Finally, we strongly believe that the e-learning modality reduces the use of animals for teaching purposes. Key Words: Education, Refinement, Laboratory Animal, e-learning