Skill enhancement for health: an evaluation of an online pilot teaching module on epidemiology

The evaluation of this pilot of an epidemiology course conducted online and delivered across Canada was based on four main criteria: design, content, process and outcomes. Data was collected through seven sources: participant online survey results, post-pilot workshop feedback, four focus groups, telephone interviews with participants, interviews with course developers, examination of online materials, and analysis of log files generated by the web server. The pilot course had the following outcomes: Findings on the delivery showed that the course took much more time than estimated; the online environment was challenging/frustrating for some; there were technical glitches; discussion boards were not regularly used; interaction with instructors was minimal; feedback from instructors was slow in coming; the short development time led to errors/mismatches between content and assessment; and the high student/teacher ratio of 1:48 made it difficult to provide timely feedback.

Distance learning ,

Case study ,

Health education ,

İnteraction ,

Web-based Learning ,