Distributed Power, Distributed Learning: Strategies for Providing Online Education for Public Health Professionals in the Digital Age Nancy J. Allee, Helen Look, Deborah Lauseng, and Gillian Mayman Public Health Informatics Services & Access University of Michigan – Ann Arbor May 23, 2004

The MI-INFO Project This grant funded project is a collaborative effort to provide a series of information and computer literacy online training modules to give public health professionals the skills for effectively finding, evaluating, and using information in the digital library environment. This project has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, under contract No. NO1-LM

Working with our Training Partners Developing support from the managers Having face-to-face meetings to promote the project Establishing liaisons Providing value added services during financially difficult times

Online Convenience Administer skills assessment Register for classes online View your classes and add/drop classes class reminders

Initial Course Offerings Best Evidence in Public Health Searching for Health Statistics Online News & Current Awareness Searching & Evaluating Information on the Web Finding Public Health Resources on the Web Searching PubMed Presenting Data Using Excel and PowerPoint

Feedback from Public Health Professionals What did you like best about this class? “Access to instructors for questions” “Good to learn from others” “Good to learn from others” “Got many helpful tips to use [web resources] more effectively….”

Comparison of Teaching Environments In Person Interact with audience Adjust pacing/content Known technology 2-5 hours preparation 2 hours teaching Online No live feedback Strict structure Uncertain technology 10+ hours preparation 10+ hours creation

Benefits of Online Instruction Self-paced 24/ 7/ 365 access Unlimited participants Convenience for busy professionals No geographic constraints

Online Learning Modules An online learning module may consist of: –Handouts –Links to additional resources –Web pages –Screen capture videos –Multiple choice quizzes

Screen Capture Videos Licensed Software: Camtasia Studio from TechSmith Requires the software and a microphone Provides full motion screen recording Supports all the popular video and animation standards –Flash output (cross platform compatible, standard plug-in)

Presenting Data Presenting Data Using Excel Using Excel

Multiple Choice Quizzes A way to evaluate what has been learned Responses are recorded into a database The correct answers and explanations are provided

Evaluations Results of skills assessment Feedback from the classes Usage Statistics with WebTrends –web analytics

Next Steps Onsite training for partners Fully developed web modules Considering certification/continuing education options Partnering with NLM Documentation of lessons learned and effective strategies for providing online education

Contact Information MI-INFO Project Web Site – Contact Information –Nancy Allee –Helen Look