Pharmacy faculty creates Video and Interactive Tool Library (VITL) to benefit students

DR. SCOTT PERKINS, clinical assistant professor and co-director of Drug Information, received an internal research grant in 2021 from Campbell University. The grant was intended to focus on the development of strategies that could improve video and e-learning tools. It also allowed Perkins to take some coursework on instructional design from UNC Charlotte. The coursework encouraged Perkins to find ways for Campbell to better utilize e-learning experiences for students, which ultimately lead to his creation of the Video and Interactive Tool Library (VITL).

VITL is a collection of faculty-created videos and interactive learning resources that provides students with engaging and meaningful learning experiences. The library consists of faculty recorded videos as well as animated activities like a “Super Smash Brothers” inspired study game. VITL is attached to Blackboard, a web-based virtual learning environment and learning management system, so faculty can easily pull helpful and relevant content into their course. Students can access the library whenever they want.

COVID closures and the demand for online learning gave new insight to the need for a successful e-learning community. College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences Dean, Michael L. Adams (’96 PharmD, PhD), commented, “We saw a great need during COVID for supplemental e-learning resources. VITL gives pharmacy students an opportunity to better understand content versus just trying to survive. I am proud of Dr. Perkins' initiative.”

Students often develop a study routine and are not interested in exploring new study techniques, even if grades are at stake. Perkins hopes VITL will help develop a culture of usefulness among students and break the “I’ve always done it this way mentality.” Perkins shared, “I am looking forward to seeing students get excited about other learning opportunities that are unique and student oriented.”

Students will be required to utilize the system during their P1 year. The creative approach was not structured to be pass/fail or simply a means to memorize content, but rather a tool that would help students learn difficult concepts and retain information. All library material stems from topics that students find most challenging and where faculty have seen grades suffer the most.

Perkins received his PharmD degree from Wingate University School of Pharmacy and then completed a specialized residency in Drug Information before joining Campbell in 2014. He is not only the brains behind the project, but he also coordinates meetings with various faculty to design the learning experiences and receive insight from the subject matter experts to ensure the resources mirror content being taught in the classroom. Along with this, he records, edits, and produces all the videos as well as creates fun interactive components.

Devin Olden (’24 PharmD/MSPH Candidate) has been instrumental in assisting Perkins with the production of VITL. Olden shared that he has learned how to be a creative professional from Perkins. “Dr. Perkins taught me that it is okay to have different interests and that it is my responsibility to produce quality content because that could be the materials needed to make mundane topics polarizing. His enthusiasm and urge to create engaging content are contagious, and he is a joy to work with!”

VITL was utilized in a few courses last year including the P2 Cardiovasucular/ Renal Integrated Pharmacotherapy modules. “The library provides innovative ways to augment students’ learning compared to traditional lectures and will definitely benefit this generation of students,” Riley Bowers (’15 PharmD), clinical associate professor of Pharmacy Practice noted. VITL was utilized in his course to provide interactive supplemental material and lecture replacements to topics such as arrhythmias and anticoagulation. - Dr. Bowers

Bowers elaborated, “As with any new change, we had some student hesitation in doing ‘extra’ learning, but we found that those who used it to its fullest extent had a 9% higher exam score on those topics. I'm confident that as VITL continues to grow, it will become more commonly used and benefit all of our students. If I were a student, I would definitely use it, especially after seeing such a clear increase in exam scores compared to the students who didn't utilize the material. Dr. Perkins has created something here that will be longstanding and change education at CPHS for the better.”

The VITL Advisory Committee consists of six faculty from various departments: Drs. Scott Perkins, Steve Sharkady, Riley Bowers, Chris Breivogel, Melanie Pound, and Steven Johnson. There is a strategic initiative that in two years’ time, each CPHS program will have at least one e-learning opportunity within VITL. Perkins shared that this has been a rewarding experience, and he is ready to expand the reach of the tool to benefit students across multiple disciplines.