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Abstract #151755

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Sukon Kanchanaraksa, PhD and Ira Gooding. Center for Teaching and Learning with Technology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 111 Market Place suite 830, Baltimore, MD 21202, 410-223-1851, skanchan@jhsph.edu

The objective of this presentation is to provide information about and to encourage participation in open content publishing of public health education materials that will benefit the public health workforce. Johns Hopkins School of Public Health OpenCourseWare (JHSPH OCW; http://ocw.jhsph.edu) provides free Web-based access to primary and supporting content from didactic courses (lecture notes, slides, assignments, reading lists, etc.). During 2006, OCW user traffic originated from the following regions: North America (83.2%), Asia (6.45%), Europe (6%), the Middle East (1.67%), Australia/Pacific (1.39%), Latin America (0.77%), and Africa (0.52%). Results from ongoing surveys suggest that more than half (52%) of OCW users are self-learners with an interest in public health; other major user categories include students (24%) and educators (15%). Most visitors (57%) intend to learn subject matter to enhance personal knowledge, and public health practitioners and self-learners use OCW to keep current in the development of their professional fields. Schools of public health should take this opportunity to develop or participate in such a concept. Experiences at JHSPH, including anecdotal evidence and the growing volume of courses, indicate increasing faculty participation, as OCW provides benefits to all learners and also aids in the promotional process. Barriers to participation include concerns of ownership and intellectual property, loss of future revenue opportunity, and extra workload. Sustainability of the program will require support from school administration and faculty, funding from both internal and external sources, and dedicated IT/OCW staff.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe OpenCourseWare, its potential to improve public health capacity, and its scope of use
• List processes used to develop an OpenCourseWare program at a School of Public Health
• Develop a plan for an OpenCourseWare program

Keywords: Internet, Public Health Education

Related Web page: ocw.jhsph.edu

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

• Slides (pdf) or Handout