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Dublin, Ireland - October 31st, 2006 - WBT Systems, one of the leading providers of enterprise e-learning solutions, today announced that a Usability Study conducted by the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne has revealed that WBT TopClass e-Learning Software is being used extensively by its medical students and staff.

In 2005, a TopClass Usability Study* revealed that over 95 per cent of University of Melbourne medical students accessed the system weekly to manage resources that support their learning needs. In addition over 92 per cent of students use the collaboration features on a weekly basis, with discussion boards and announcements proving to be popular communication methods. The University of Melbourne’s medical curriculum employs a problem-based learning (PBL) approach. The curriculum is organised around weekly problems using group teaching, supported by facilitators. A key component of this is self-directed learning, where students explore learning issues, determined during the PBL tutorial, through a number of resources made available to students, including lecture notes, book chapters, computer assisted learning modules and websites.

TopClass supports the curriculum through the provision of course materials and resources, including digital resources, lecture notes, resource lists and assessment tasks. The system is also used extensively as a collaboration tool for messaging, announcements and discussion boards.

TopClass has assisted in the delivery of a modern integrated curriculum, 20 percent of which is the online medical component. Associate Dean (Information) Professor Peter Harris said, “It has been a robust and cost effective solution widely used and well supported by students. It has assisted in the provision of comprehensive communication and learning resources for our students.”

“The University of Melbourne has been a WBT customer for several years. At WBT we strive to ensure that the TopClass customer experience is positive, and that customer satisfaction is high, from implementation to usage and support,” says Paul Dooley, CEO WBT Systems.

About The University of Melbourne

The University of Melbourne is ranked amongst the top universities both in Australia and the world. The University has more than 44,000 students and around 6,000 teaching, research and professional staff. It has the oldest and one of the most prestigious medical schools in Australia. The Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences provides undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate coursework and research programs in medicine, dental science, physiotherapy, nursing, behavioural science (psychology), population health, rural health and the life sciences. For more information, see www.unimelb.edu.au

*Petrovic, T, & Kennedy, G.E. (2005). How often do students use a learning management system in an on-campus problem-based learning curriculum? In H. Goss (Ed.) Balance, Fidelity, Mobility: Maintaining the Momentum? Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference of the Australian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (pp. 535-538). Brisbane Queensland, 4-7 December.

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