Crowdsourcing for assessment items to support adaptive learning.

Purpose: Adaptive learning requires frequent and valid assessments for learners to track progress against their goals. This study determined if multiple-choice questions (MCQs) "crowdsourced" from medical learners could meet the standards of many large-scale testing programs.

Methods: Users of a medical education app (Osmosis.

The reCAPTCHA of medical education.

This article focuses on what Luis von Ahn called the "twofer," that is, a single solution that elegantly addresses two problems on a large scale. We describe two of von Ahn's creations: reCAPTCHA, which validates a human web presence while also digitizing hard-to-read words, and Duolingo, which teaches new languages while translating the web. We then consider how this approach can be applied to medical education.

Medical Education Videos for the World: An Analysis of Viewing Patterns for a YouTube Channel.

Purpose: Medical education videos can enhance learning and easily integrate into common instructional methods. YouTube permits worldwide access to high-quality medical education videos; however, no studies have described the reach of medical education videos on YouTube or what topics are preferred.

Method: One year of YouTube analytics data (February 1, 2016, to January 31, 2017) was collected for a medical-education-focused channel called Osmosis.

Using "big data" to guide implementation of a web and mobile adaptive learning platform for medical students.

Background: Adaptive learning platforms (ALPs) can revolutionize medical education by making learning more efficient, but their potential has not been realized because students do not use them persistently.

Methods: We applied educational data mining methods to study United States medical students who used an ALP called Osmosis ( www.osmosis.

Using Commercial Activity Monitors to Measure Gait in Patients with Suspected iNPH: Implications for Ambulatory Monitoring.

Objectives: This study seeks to validate the use of activity monitors to detect and record gait abnormalities, potentially identifying patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) prior to the onset of cognitive or urinary symptoms.

Methods: This study compared the step counts of four common activity monitors (Omron Step Counter HJ-113, New Lifestyles 2000, Nike Fuelband, and Fitbit Ultra) to an observed step count in 17 patients with confirmed iNPH.

Results: Of the four devices, the Fitbit Ultra (Fitbit, Inc.

iMedEd: the role of mobile health technologies in medical education.

Mobile health (mHealth) technologies have experienced a recent surge in attention because of their potential to transform the delivery of health care. This enthusiasm is partly due to the near ubiquity of smartphones and tablets among clinicians, as well as to the stream of mobile medical apps and devices being created. While much discussion has been devoted to how these tools will impact the practice of medicine, surprisingly little has been written on the role these technologies will play in medical education.

The genetic control of neocortex volume and covariation with neocortical gene expression in mice.

Background: The size of the cerebral cortex varies widely within human populations, and a large portion of this variance is modulated by genetic factors. The discovery and characterization of these genes and their variants can contribute to an understanding of individual differences in brain development, behavior, and disease susceptibility. Here we use unbiased stereological techniques to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that modulate the volume of neocortex.