Boosting Vet Education in Cambodia: The Impact of Online Tools

Teaching veterinary students in countries with limited resources can be tough. In Cambodia, the Royal University of Agriculture faced challenges in covering the 11 essential skills outlined by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). To tackle this, universities from the U. S. and New Zealand teamed up to create online teaching materials focused on herd health and disease investigation—the most pressing needs. They designed a series of PowerPoint presentations on a platform called Moodle, along with various learning activities. The goal was to align teaching methods with student learning outcomes. The impact of these resources was evaluated through surveys, group discussions, and classroom observations. The faculty found these resources helpful, especially during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when they could use them to supplement their Khmer-language teaching materials. While they didn't fully adopt the new teaching methods right away, there were signs of a shift toward more student-centered approaches, which encouraged students to engage more deeply with their learning. Overall, the faculty agreed that these online tools were beneficial. This positive feedback supports the idea of creating more digital content and teaching strategies to cover the remaining nine competencies.

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