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Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology
Medknow Publications on behalf of The Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists (IADVL)
ISSN: 0378-6323 EISSN: 0973-3922
Vol. 72, Num. 3, 2006, pp. 231-232
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Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology, Vol. 72, No. 3, May-June, 2006, pp. 231-232
Letter To Editor
Response by author
Kamel Boulos MagedN
Health Informatics, University of Plymouth
Correspondence Address:Health Informatics, University of Plymouth,
mnkamelboulos@plymouth.ac.uk
Code Number: dv06077
Related article: dv06076
Sir,
I fully agree with the author of the letter titled ';Blog your clinical photos';.[1] The
latest generation of collaborative web-based tools - namely, wikis, blogs/photoblogs
and podcasts/vodcasts - offer many unique and powerful information-sharing
and collaboration features. They also have the added advantage of taking
the technical skill out of these features, allowing users to focus on
the information and collaborative tasks themselves, minus delivery obstacles.[2],[3],[4],[5],[6],[7],[8],[9],[10],[11],[12],[13]
Wikis, blogs/photoblogs and podcasts/vodcasts carry the potential of complementing,
improving and adding new collaborative dimensions to the many existing
online dermatology services like Map of Dermatology (http://healthcybermap.org/dermap/),[14] the
UK NLH Skin Disorders Specialist Library (http://www.library.nhs.uk/skin),[15] telederm.org
(Open Access Teleconsultation in Dermatology - http://www.telederm.org/ and http://teledermatology-society.org/),[16] Virtual
Grand Rounds in Dermatology (http://www.vgrd.org/ - see their supplementary
blog: http://vgrd.blogspot.com/) and Dr. Bell Eapen';s Virtual Dermatologist
(http://www.gulfdoctor.net/vd.htm), to name a few.
However, careful thinking is needed to find the best ways to use these
emerging tools to boost our productivity, foster better ';communities of practice';and
support our continuing professional development. Healthcare professionals
and students with dermatology interests must be adequately involved in
this process. Inspired by the successful Yahoo! 360 model,[17] the
resultant ';use scenarios'; should also be designed to provide the ';binding glue';for
the different technologies on offer (wikis, blogs/photoblogs and podcasts/vodcasts)
and existing online dermatology services, integrating them synergistically
into one coherent, wholesome, and unique user experience.
References
| 1. | Eapen BR. Blog your clinical photos. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2006;72:231-2. Back to cited text no. 1 |
| 2. | The Flu Wiki: A Serious Application of New Web Tools http://marshallk.blogspot.com/2005/07/flu-wiki-serious-application-of-new.html Last accessed: 9th February 2006. Back to cited text no. 2 |
| 3. | Rosacea Wiki. http://rosaceagroup.org/wiki/Main_Page. Last accessed: 9th February 2006. Back to cited text no. 3 |
| 4. | Wikimedia Commons - Category:Dermatology http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Dermatology Last accessed: 9th February 2006. Back to cited text no. 4 |
| 5. | International Teledermatology blog http://dermconsult. blogspot.com/ Last accessed: 9th February 2006. Back to cited text no. 5 |
| 6. | Skiba DJ. Do your students wiki? Nursing Education Perspect 2005;26:120-1. Back to cited text no. 6 |
| 7. | Sauer IM, Bialek D, Efimova E, Schwartlander R, Pless G, Neuhaus P. "Blogs" and "wikis" are valuable software tools for communication within research groups. Artific Organs 2005;29:82-3. Back to cited text no. 7 |
| 8. | Wiki: Web Collaboration. Ebersbach A, Glaser M, Heigl R. Last updated: 2005 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/3540259953/ Last accessed: 9th February 2006. Back to cited text no. 8 |
| 9. | Photoblogs.org http://www.photoblogs.org/ and http://wiki.photoblogs.org/wiki/Main_Page Last accessed: 9th February 2006. Back to cited text no. 9 |
| 10. | The iPod photo goes medical. Wu D. last updated: 4th December 2004. http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000713024391/ Last accessed: 9th February 2006. Back to cited text no. 10 |
| 11. | Maag M. Podcasting and MP3 Players: Emerging Education Technologies. CIN: Comput Informat Nurs 2006;24:9-13. Back to cited text no. 11 [PUBMED] [FULLTEXT] |
| 12. | Podcasting and Vodcasting: A White Paper. Meng P. Last updated: 2005 http://edmarketing.apple.com/adcinstitute/wp-content/Missouri_Podcasting_White_Paper.pdf Last accessed: 9th February 2006. Back to cited text no. 12 |
| 13. | Carleton University vodcast experiment http://www.carleton.ca/cutv/vod/vodcast.htm Last accessed: 9th February 2006. Back to cited text no. 13 |
| 14. | Kamel Boulos MN. Map of dermatology: Web image browser for differential diagnosis in dermatology. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2006;72:72-4. Back to cited text no. 14 |
| 15. | Grindlay D, Kamel Boulos MN, Williams HC. Introducing the National Library for Health Skin Conditions Specialist Library. BMC Dermatology 2005;5:4. Available at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-5945-5-4.pdf Back to cited text no. 15 |
| 16. | Soyer HP, Hofmann-Wellenhof R, Massone C, Gabler G, Dong H, Ozdemir F, et al . telederm.org: freely available online consultations in dermatology. PLoS Med 2005;2:e87. Back to cited text no. 16 |
| 17. | Yahoo! 360 http://360.yahoo.com/reg/whatis.html and http://360.yahoo.com/reg/sample.html Last accessed: 9th February 2006. Back to cited text no. 17 |
Copyright 2006 - Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology
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