Teaching and learning in dermatology: from Gutenberg to Zuckerberg via way of Von Hebra.

The World Wide Web (www) and other internet-based technologies offer enormous potential for enhancing teaching in dermatology. There is also the possibility that if these technologies are adopted uncritically, either because of ignorance of how people learn, or because they are viewed primarily as ways to reduce institutional costs, that they might diminish learning, thereby reducing the value proposition that undergraduate students receive from Medical Schools. I review the history of recent technological change with a focus on what value such technologies bring to both student and institution. After summarising some of the core principles underpinning successful learning, and modern theories of medical expertise, I critically discuss some of the ways the Web and allied technologies might enhance the learning of dermatology.