Maintaining currency and quality in an online distance learning system: Lessons learned

The North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness (NCCPHP) in the North Carolina Institute for Public Health offers a training Web site containing more than 160 preparedness-related trainings developed by NCCPHP over a 5-year period. Since the site's launch in 2003, technological advancements have resulted in a noticeable difference between the audiovisual quality of older and newer trainings. In addition, some training content has become dated. Also, as the site's trainings and usage have grown, both the index used to locate trainings and the underlying database structure have become inadequate. There is little or no literature that defines a standard methodology for reviewing online training modules or maintaining currency of the infrastructure for an online learning system.

As part of an overall review and update of the NCCPHP Training Web Site, modules were reviewed for relevance to public health, timeliness, audiovisual quality, frequency of use, and problems with hyperlinks. Each of these components was evaluated on a scale of 1 to 4, with higher numbers corresponding to a greater need for improvement. Training modules were given a priority ranking based on the average rating score and the volume of usage per month. Training modules were also re-cataloged by adapting nationally recognized cataloging systems.

Based on this evaluation process, NCCPHP established a standardized methodology for reviewing and updating all training modules and the site navigation system. By assigning improvement priorities to trainings, NCCPHP staff are able to devote time and resources toward those training modules with the highest need for improvement.