Case Study
The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL)
The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) is a medical association dedicated to pursuing excellence in liver research, clinical practice of liver disorders and in providing education to those interested in hepatology. EASL’s mission is to be the Home of Hepatology so that all who are involved with treating liver disease can realise their full potential to cure and prevent it.
EASL’s aim is to spread knowledge and expertise in best practices and promote the latest scientific breakthroughs in hepatology. Providing an effective e-learning platform for its members became a priority for the association in recent years. This is where we began our partnership.
The Challenge
EASL’s biggest challenge was to create a learning environment that was intuitive and user-friendly. They needed a platform that could be customised, handle the volume of materials that they need in order to pursue and deliver educational excellence in the field of liver research. EASL wanted an eLearning platform to provide open-access, interactive education courses.
The Solution
Following a detailed analysis undertaken by EASL and the Enovation team, it was agreed that the focus of this platform would be to provide a customisable, user friendly LMS through Moodle. This decision was taken in order to deliver EASLs main LMS priorities:
- User centric- Personal sign in portal
- Accessibility-Easy access to relevant content depending on area of research
- Customisable-EASL branded
- The capacity for a significant volume of content.
- Access control functionality
- Reporting
Each of the above were of equal importance to effectively enhance the learning experience in the field of hepatology.
As a result of strong collaboration between EASL and Enovation, The EASL Moodle VLE incorporates a user friendly module that facilitates a seamless, interactive and multi-lateral learning experience. Enabling administrators to have full control over who has access to what information.
Moodle’s open-source structure enables the continuous update of the materials including medical accreditation documents as well as course materials. Enovation applied its expertise in Instructional Design in formatting the Moodle courses, using the appropriate activities to ensure positive learning experiences for the EASL user base. The main power of this activity-based model comes in combining the activities into sequences and groups, which help guide the participants through learning paths. Thus, each activity can build on the outcomes of previous ones.
“As a medical organisation we have to be attentive to accreditation. Now with Moodle we have the ability to update this material right when it is due. This is a functionality of Moodle that will be invaluable to the association going forward.”
The Results
Moodle’s functionality combined with Enovation’s expertise in developing custom modules meant that we could provide EASL with the intuitive, user-friendly, accessible learning environment that the association sought for its members.
EASL published the first of their modules in April. More courses are in the middle of being developed for the platform. Already EASL has seen how Moodle will help them develop in the future and have plans in motion to develop their modules.
We asked how and if EASL would recommend Moodle to a similar Association: “Actually, I have already had the opportunity to recommend it. I had the opportunity to present the platform at a conference just a week after we launched the platform. “
