202904 Enhancing interaction in a graduate-level online certificate program in field epidemiology using wikis, blogs, and Web conferencing

Monday, November 9, 2009

Lorraine K. Alexander, DrPH, MPH , UNC Center for Public Health Preparedness, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Debra E. Irwin, PhD, MSPH , Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Amy Nelson, PhD, MPH, CPH , University of North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Karin B. Yeatts, PhD , Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma, and Lung Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Rachel A. Wilfert, MD, MPH, CPH , North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Jennifer A. Horney, PhD, MA, MPH, CPH , North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Victor J. Schoenbach, PhD , Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
  
Recent evaluations of the online Certificate in Field Epidemiology, sponsored by the North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness, the North Carolina Institute for Public Health, and the Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, have indicated that students wanted more interaction than currently offered by the online courses. To address this need and enhance course interactions among students and between faculty and students, technologies such as wikis, blogs, and Web conferencing were added. Technologies varied by course depending on instructor interest and course content. For all four required courses, faculty used Web conferencing to give course orientations, present guest lecturers, and offer help sessions; one instructor also conducted a virtual journal club using this technology. Web conferencing also allowed students to see faculty live over a Webcam and use the chat feature for questions. Students in three courses used wikis to build a Web site, an exercise designed to provide team building skills to enhance the group work required in the course. Wikis were also used to complete team projects, allowing student teams to view and comment on each others' projects. One faculty instructor instituted a weekly “My Favorite Disease” blog displaying news events and epidemiologic studies relevant to course content, information on a “disease of the week,” and a “question of the week” discussion forum. Course evaluations show an overall increase in satisfaction for faculty interaction with the wikis, blog, and Web conferencing, and high acceptance of the new technologies.

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the challenges in using new technologies to develop more interactive online curriculum. 2. Discuss the benefits to students and faculty in incorporating new technologies to enhance the online learning experience.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Dr. Rachel A. Wilfert is a research associate for training and education with the North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness. She is responsible for helping plan, implement and coordinate NCCPHP’s training and educational programs. Dr. Wilfert’s responsibilities include oversight of several projects with state partners including the Public Health Workforce Development System (an online learning management system for North Carolina public health workers) and a contract with the NC Division of Public Health to train public health employees on the NC Electronic Disease Surveillance System, a new online communicable disease reporting system that is being implemented in all local health departments in North Carolina. She supervises professional staff working on curriculum development, training implementation, and marketing as well as graduate research assistants working on continued development of NCCPHP’s Training Web Site. She also develops relevant trainings for both face-to-face and online delivery. Dr. Wilfert received her MD from the Duke University School of Medicine and completed an internship in Duke’s Internal Medicine Residency Training Program. She received an MPH from the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the UNC School of Public Health and is certified in public health. Prior to joining NCCPHP, she worked for the NC AHEC Program on a statewide digital library for health professionals where she developed the Disaster Preparedness and Response Special Collection.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.

See more of: Academic Public Health Caucus Poster Session I
See more of: Academic Public Health Caucus