Physiotherapy Education in the Digital Era
Ana Tomé, José Luis Coelho
Abstract
The area of physiotherapy education has entered the digital era where teachers and students are provided with new teaching and learning paradigms. Comparable with other disciplines, the technology integration into physical therapy practice and curriculum is expected to deliver both advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to explore the expanding role of educational technologies in physiotherapy education and training. Uncovering the enablers and barriers of delivering physical therapy knowledge and skills using instructional technologies may help academic institutions in improving problem-solving and clinical reasoning skills among students. This chapter focused on emerging digital tools and platforms, such as virtual learning environments, massive open online courses, virtual reality, digital games and gamification, and simulation. The roadmap of educational technologies provided here raises attention to the integration of new and innovative technology solutions into physiotherapy education.