What is 21st Century Learners

The dramatic transition from the post-Flexnerian model to the models of 21st century requires pedagogical practices such as teaching techniques, methods, and strategies to be modernized in order to address the diverse needs of 21st century medical students. E-learning and online education applications provide enriched opportunities for redesigning health education, and they are widely discussed in life-long learning, self-directed learning, and competency-based instructional practices. Advancements in educational technology, and the best practices of integrating educational technology with pedagogy, are not clearly outlined in medical education although e-learning and online education have the potential to address the requirements of modernized medical education. The overall goals of the chapter are to discuss technology-supported instructional design practices in medical education by emphasizing learner characteristics, addressing principles of instructional design for online teaching practices, and providing evaluation tools that guide designers to develop better online learning practices for advancing medical education through technology.