NOVICE

Network Of Veterinarians in Continuing Education (NOVICE) Project

What is the NOVICE Project?

The Network Of Veterinarians in Continuing Education (NOVICE) project is led by six EU veterinary Schools: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University; Stiftung Tierarztliche Hochschule, Hannover; The Royal Veterinary College, London; Szent Istvan Egyetem, Budapest; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bucharest; Bristol Veterinary School, Bristol.

The project, funded by an award granted under the EU’s Lifelong Learning Programme, aims to investigate the role of Web 2.0 technologies (for example, wikis and blogs) in supporting veterinary informal, lifelong learning. Specifically, the project seeks to develop a strong network of veterinary students and practitioners throughout Europe, supported by ICT and veterinary educationalists.

The project’s website www.noviceproject.eu has been running since 2010 and has over 3,500 members from more than 70 countries. The website facilitates discussion and the exchange of knowledge between members from different countries and with different levels and areas of expertise; but all with common interests. Current popular groups include ‘Veterinary Clinical Skills and Simulation' and ‘Animal Welfare' but there are many more! You can also follow blogs of veterinary educationalists.

The website offers advice and guidance to those new to the technology in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sections, help sections and the chance to e-mail ICT experts. So even if you have never used Web 2.0 tools before, you can feel confident to do so within NOVICE.

To become a member, you need to visit www.noviceproject.eu and register, which is free of charge. You will then have to be approved by the NOVICE team before you can begin to edit your profile, write a blog, read the discussion boards etc. This process aims to ensure that the site is restricted to veterinary students, veterinarians and veterinary educationalists.

Key Project publications:

Dale, V.H.M., Kinnison, T., Short, N., May, S.A., Baillie, S. 2011. Web 2.0 and the veterinary profession: current trends and future implications for lifelong learning. The Veterinary Record, 169(18):467.

Baillie S, Kinnison T, Forrest N, Dale V, Ehlers J, Koch M, Mandoki M, Ciobotaru E, de Groot E, Boerboom T, van Beukelen P. 2011. Developing NOVICE: A Network Of Veterinary ICt in Education. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, 38(4): 395-403.

Ciobotaru E, Ionita M, Kinnison T, Militaru M, Predoi G, Baillie S. Face-to-face and online professional communities for veterinarians and veterinary students - a focus group study. Scientific Works (C Series), (2010), LVI(3-4), 39-49.

The RVC project team members are: Tierney Kinnison, Nick Short and Stephen May.