EDITORIAL E-Learning: from useful to indispensable tool E-learning: de ferramenta útil a indispensável

E-learning, meaning electronic learning, is a teaching model based on use of technology with the fundamental characteristic of not requiring the student’s physical presence. In other words, it consists of learning through studying material in computer environments and on the internet or other electronic media, where the teacher, if any, remains at a distance.1 Classically, there are two types of e-learning: distance learning and computer-assisted learn-ing. Distance learning uses information technology to take learning to different locations. Computer-assisted learning, also known as computer-based training, uses computers as the sole teaching tool, through different forms of media, without the presence of a teacher or tutor, even at a distance.2 These two types are becoming increasingly integrated as the internet develops. Medicine is a field of knowledge in which there has been high investment in developing e-learning tools. This is very clear just from the observation that in the PubMed database alone, 111 studies were published on this topic in 2011 (from searching using the key words “e-learn-ing”, “medical ” and “education”). Some recent examples include the following:- Richardson et al.3 published their experience from using an online tool over a two-year period in three countries in North America, at a total of 24 different sites, with the aim o