Rev. Şt. „V. Adamachi”, vol. XXIII, nr. 1-4, 2014 12 ICT resources, Web 2.0 based activities and student learning styles in medical physics education Dana Crăciun 1 , Mădălin Bunoiu 2 1 Teacher Training Departament, West University of Timișoara 4 V. Pârvan, Timișoara, Romania 2 Faculty of Physics, West University of Timișoara 4 V. Pârvan, Timișoara, Romania Abstract. Knowledge about the learning styles of students is essential for a teacher during the design of his/her teaching activities within a seminar or an applied class. If these activities include various resources that target information and communication technology (ICT), then current models have to be redesigned with respect to the learning styles of the students. These models should handle the variety of resources and the multiple ways of interaction with the virtual environment. This study presents the link between the learning styles of students, the design of the teaching process and various categories of ICT resources used during teaching activities to enhance the knowledge of and collaboration between students. For exemplification, we describe a complex teaching activity based on web 2.0 resources and specialized software. This activity has taken place during the course of Medical equipment which is part of the undergraduate study program in Medical Physics at the West University of Timisoara. Keywords: ICT resources, learning styles, medical physics education. 1. INTRODUCTION In the last decade, the development of information and communication technology (ICT) has led to an increase in the availability and popularity of online technologies and has given birth to educational opportunities in different environments, but most abundantly in tertiary education. [1]-[4]. We live in a period in which the Internet and the mobile devices have spread within the social and professional environments generating the demand of permanent learning, unconstrained by time and space. University leaders are rethinking their academic and pedagogic structures to integrate the new tendencies of the student centered teaching – learning – evaluation process. All these premises lead to the design of new learning models to prepare the students for their integration into the labor market. The aim of these models is to develop the skills necessary for 21 st century students, i.e. their responsibility and their ability to adapt in a world where knowledge is based on critical thinking, creativity and intellectual curiosity, communication and collaboration skills, problem solving, self-development, usage of ICT, etc. (www.21stcenturyskills.org). Recent efforts to improve tertiary education are aimed towards enhancing the learning process through ICT resources adapted to the specific learning styles and needs of the students. In the current teaching process, the learning style of the student is considered to be a decisive parameter in the student centered tertiary education [5]- [8]. The identification of the learning styles and of different aspects related to the variety of learning styles in general, the adjustment of teaching activities to these styles, the usage of adaptive e-learning systems and of the utilities of Web 2.0 and ICT resources, all lead to the enhancement of the teaching process that aims to develop the skills necessary in the 21st century for a student to be well integrated into the labor market after graduation. This study presents different ways to improve the teaching process based on the use of the various ICT resources while taking into account the different learning styles of the students. It is aimed in particular towards the Medical Physics specialization which is part of the Faculty of Physics from the West University of Timisoara. 2. ICT EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Sorin Cristea defines ICT as a collection of technological resources and tools used to communicate but also to create, send, store and manage the information necessary within the teaching process [9]. ICT encompasses the processes, tools and techniques for: gathering and identifying information, classifying and organizing, summarizing and synthesizing, analyzing and evaluating and speculating and predicting. ICT can be used both in academic research as well as in education, being a powerful tool for extending formal and non- formal educational opportunities. On the other hand, an adequate design of the teaching process implies the interconnectivity of learning competences, content, methodology, activities, resources and evaluation. Each of these components can be enhanced with the use of different resources offered by ICT. Furthermore, ICT educational resources contribute to the development of teaching activities both at an individual scale as well as at a collaborative scale. In tertiary education, ICT resources can be used to obtain three different outputs: information, learning and collaboration respectively. No unique grouping of these resources exists. The same resource can be used in various ways, based on the learning activity in which it is employed. ICT Information Resources imply a flexible, real time supply of information available in databases and unlimited access to online resources. These resources include but are not limited to: virtual encyclopedias, webgraphy, online databases, web 2.0 tools, etc. ICT Learning Resources allow the acquisition of knowledge, attitudes or domain specific procedures according to the standards of the considered domain. Such resources include interactive tutorials, online quizzes, web 2.0 tools (e.g., eBooks, podcasts) and open online courses. ICT Collaboration Resources offer the opportunity to engage in professional networks and collectively create knowledge. This category includes asynchronous communication tools (e-mail, forums, groups, social