AFRO-NETS> Teaching Aids At Low Cost and CD-ROMs

[Prof David Moorley <David@morleydc.demon.co.uk>]

Teaching Aids At Low Cost and CD-ROMs
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Source: HIF-net at WHO <hif-net@who.int>

Article for IHE (International Health Exchange)

Teaching Aids At Low Cost (TALC) expects to become a major distribu-
tor of CD-ROMs. TALC started providing sets of 24 slides for just 6 
old shillings (30 pence) in the 60's and reached a peak in the mid 
'80s, with a total distribution of 7 million. Since then books have 
become our priority with a distribution of over a million. From next 
year we hope the distribution of CD-ROMs will steadily increase and 
we will have a subsidiary 'e-TALC'.

Among the printed material most useful in countries of the South, the 
free newsletters put out by such organisation as Healthlink World 
Wide, Tear Fund, etc are read widely and popular. Thanks to a grant 
from DIFID TALC will be opening an office in Oxford which will put 
these newsletters and other materials on to CD-ROMs for free distri-
bution. Oxford has been chosen because our collaborators the anaes-
thetists are based there and there is also a pool of students with IT 
knowledge who can be employed part time to undertake the creation of 
easily understood CD-ROMs.

TALC has also assembled a list of at least a dozen free or low cost 
CD-ROMs these covering a number of subjects, including malaria, or-
thopaedics, and tuberculosis. We would hope that within a year or two 
we could supply hospital and health units with a carefully selected 
list of free or low cost CD-ROMs, which would cover most subjects. 
This is necessary as in so many parts of the world access to web 
sites are both difficult and expensive.

Our expectation is that this material will be appropriate for initial 
and ongoing education. The senior health worker should be able to ac-
cess in the future information on conditions such as Eclampsia which 
can be printed off and given to students before they undertake a 
teaching sessions involving a patient with the condition. Individual 
students preparing to present a case would be taught to access rele-
vant material.

For obvious reasons publishers are likely to be reticent in allowing 
their books to be available on CD-ROMs which can be printed out. How-
ever there are those who see the possibility of using this media to 
be bring better health care to countries of the South. TALC hopes to 
hear from IHE readers who know of such material.

Prof. David Morley
mailto:David@morleydc.demon.co.uk

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