Iraj Poureslami, Dave MacLean, Tom Hall,Steve Corber, Arun Chockalingam, Barb Berry,

Simon Fraser University

Allan Davison HealthSciences

Global Health eLearning:

Contributors:Kelly Lee - LSHTM Vic Neufeld - Queens USrinath Reddy - India Duncan Saunders -U of A

Opportunities and Pitfalls

Global health distance learning• What is GH? • 21st Century instruction• Why eLearning?• Web resources –

what’s missing?• Opportunities & pitfalls

"International" vs "Global" Health

Why now? Globalization’s impactCauses of inequities – how to diminish them

Self-interest: SARS, HIV-AIDS, W Nile, Avian 'flu, Hanta

jobs

moneydrugs

ideas

infectious agents

remedies

Development: global inequities > instability

Desire to be “good global corporate citizens"

Global exchange

To help the peoples of the world safeguard & improve their health

developmentknowledge

transfer

capacitybuilding

education

health

Growing need for trained personnelMillennium development goalsGrameen foundationMillennium village project

Needs are in the global south …

… instruction is mainly in north

Distance learning is the answer, and

courses are proliferating, but

quality rivalling classroom instruction is elusive

Distance learning – the futureSuccess → proliferation

• undergrad / graduate streams, conferences

• universality of subject matter

• geographical distribution of audiences

Opportunity: Agreement re contentGlobalization & policy (cost benefit analysis)

“Barefoot” emergency nurses & dispensaries

Team player

Evidence-based decision makingAdvocate persuasively

Can assemble resources – well connected

Mosquito nets & insecticidesSeedsSafe waterMosquito netsPharmaceuticals

Masters training goals … agents of change

Needs

Opportunity: Infrastructure Exists

1. Individual online course packages - fee-based

– some shared freely2. Free but public domain resources

notably the Global Health SuperCourse3. Free quality-controlled compendia

4. For-profit "ePacks" by textbook publisherslinked to course management systems

notably the Global Health Education Consortium

credit or non-credit

5. Well funded educational consortia

unmoderated

Nutrition in Medicine NIH

3rd millennium teaching & learningMemorization vs …

just in time vs just in case

… case-studies

problem-based learning

1. Quality control

2. Foundations of health literacy for individuals

4. Teaching the teacherslinked to course management systems

5. Well funded educational consortia Nutrition in Medicine NIH

3. Collaborations that allow economies of scale

with very little prerequisite knowledge - Rob Stead

& prevent wasteful duplication, see BCcampus

Pitfalls: What’s missing

ResourcesOECD Report E-learning in Tertiary Education - WHERE DO WE STAND?http://education.qld.gov.au/information/service/libraries/docs/oecdfiles/elearn-tertiary.pdf

MERLOT: (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) This repository of over 220 peer-reviewed Learning objects "is a FREE and OPEN resource designed primarily for faculty and students in higher education." High quality interactive online learning materials. Here's their "Tasting Room" page. 07/10/01

Global health eLearning centre USAID http://www.globalhealthlearning.org/courses.cfm Perinatal care; Youth reproductive health: HIV, contraception (standard days method); Logistics for health commodities; M&E; Malaria; Tuberculosis

2nd Intl conference on Interactive Mobile and Computer aided Learning, (IMCL2007). Al-Jubaiha, Amman, Jordan.

Global health educational consortium

Global health supercourse

Agreement regarding nuts & boltsPolicy (cost benefit analysis)Globalization

Barefoot emergency nurses & dispensaries

Team player

Evidence-based decision making

Advocate persuasively

Can assemble resources – well connected

Mosquito netsSeedsSafe waterMosquito netspharmaceuticals

Millenium development goals village

The task

• Elucidate – as a health researcher• Educate – as an informed practitioner• Advocate – as a health activist • Agitate – as a concerned citizen

select future leaders in global health give them the best possible resources to safeguard the health of the world's populationto improve quality of lifeto reduce disparities.

Distance-courses are being implemented

what ‘s available?

what ‘s desirable?

quality design

Research

Practice

Capacity Building

Team-Building

Outcome: To help communities improve their health

eLearning Resources1. Individual online course packages - fee-based

– some shared freely2. Free but public domain resources

notably the Global Health SuperCourse3. Free quality-controlled compendia

4. For-profit "ePacks" by textbook publisherslinked to course management systems

notably the Global Health Education Consortium

credit or non-credit

5. Well funded educational consortia

unmoderated

Nutrition in Medicine NIH

Pitfalls & opportunities

Benefits• worldwide

availability of instructional materials

• toolboxes for change-agents who seek to diminish health inequities

Hazards• waste of effort • inadequate design • product overlap • quality control

Reasons for optimism

Knowledge consumers

Knowledge transfer

Knowledge producers

“White men in suits – we never see them again”

“Studied to death – nothing changes”

Joe Kasonde“Information broker”

Implementation

Raising the barExamplars that set a standard – note:

Raises question then provides information

“Granularity” (modularization)

Case studies – learner as researcher

Learner centred instruction

Relevant to situations in which info will be used

Evidence-based practice

View some exemplars

• Nutrition in Medicine: Stephen S Zeisel

• Student intro to nutrition in pregnancy• Problem based learning strategies• Patient case 6 Nicole Part 4

Roadmap to a quality product

Quality controlCross-institute collaborationInvolvement of media expertsInstructional designersWeb designersField testingExternal review

Consortia among deliverers allowscooperation across institutions

develop a distance education model

trains local workforces

multiple access points

scaleable to local needsagreed quality control standards

Overview & take home message

• what is global health & why now? • why distance?• web resources - what is available?• what is missing?• The future - opportunities & pitfalls

Global health distance learning

Out-takes

Global health distance learning

• what is GH? • 21st Century instruction• Why eLearning?• Web resources –

what’s missing?• Opportunities & pitfalls

Barriers to collaboration

rebranding existing materials.

institutions need to cover costs and earn income

differences regarding content and emphasis

a degree of band-wagon jumping

differences regarding quality control

territorial issues

Benefits & opportunities

~agreed contemporary goals: appropriate

a degree of altruism regarding global health

desired characteristics of graduates

learning tools

benefits of inter-institutional resource-poolingcore skill-set

Potential Institutional collaborationsUNISA

University of Alberta

Simon Fraser University

to be completed

Developmenthealth

capacitybuilding

educationknowledge

transfer

Transitions in learning

• Teaching • Early life • Just in case

• Memorizing facts • In classroom • WWW as a photocopier

just-in-time

problem-based

learninglife long

home and worldwideactive participant

Just-in-time information

You’ve received a message from the gallery. Read now? Later?

Your viewing pattern suggests you’re interested in early surrealism. Would you like to highlight locations?

Yes /no?

ResourcesOECD Report E-learning in Tertiary Education - WHERE DO WE STAND?http://education.qld.gov.au/information/service/libraries/docs/oecdfiles/elearn-tertiary.pdf

MERLOT: (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) This repository of over 220 peer-reviewed Learning objects "is a FREE and OPEN resource designed primarily for faculty and students in higher education." High quality interactive online learning materials. Here's their "Tasting Room" page. 07/10/01

Global health eLearning centre USAID http://www.globalhealthlearning.org/courses.cfm Perinatal care; Youth reproductive health: HIV, contraception (standard days method); Logistics for health commodities; M&E; Malaria; Tuberculosis

2nd Intl conference on Interactive Mobile and Computer aided Learning, (IMCL2007). Al-Jubaiha, Amman, Jordan.

Global health educational consortium [add]

Global health supercourse [add]