Oral

Young workers are at greater risk than adult workers for occupational injury. To address this, educators and advocates have developed a variety of outreach and education strategies targeting employers, educators, parents, and youth themselves. In this session, we will explore new computer-based education and outreach technologies being developed specifically to raise awareness and provide training to young workers themselves. Marc Weinstein, College of Education, Florida International University, will present on the development of a virtual health and safety training environment called “Bumbles Café.” This learning environment will allow students and resource instructors to interact from physically remote locations in real time, providing opportunities for guided missions to identify hazards, or role playing exercises with employers. Jenny Houlroyd, Georgia Tech Occupational Safety and Health Program, will present on how their new Southeast Center for Young Worker Safety and Health is using online social networking (including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogging, and websites) to provide information and interactive educational resources to engage young people in workplace safety. Wendy Hord, New York State United Teachers, will present on the development of a pilot online training program for youth, based on the Canadian “Passport to Safety” program using objectives and activities from the NIOSH/OSHA curriculum Youth @ Work—Talking Safety. Discussion questions will include: What are the advantages and disadvantages of web-based outreach and training for young people? How do we evaluate the learning and impact of these approaches? How do we integrate these new learning technologies with effective in-person training and education?

Session Objectives: Compare various computer-based learning and outreach technologies that may be used to engage youth in workplace health and safety. Discuss advantages and disadvantages of these technologies.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)