Wednesday 8 February 2012

If there were a #MedEdMOOC what would it do?

There's been talk about a medical education / healthcare Massive Open Online Course called #MedEdMOOC for a couple of months. There's been an open document at http://bit.ly/MedEdMOOC following a Twitter exchange in November.

But what should the course be about? Who would want to join it and what would be done? Would anyone join other than a small clique of techno-freaks?

The aim should be to have a BIG event so that we can learn from each other and create a lot of materials that others might find useful.

@ClaireOT has posted What should be included in a #MedEdMOOC? Social Media in Continuing Professional Development where she says:
It is my hope that the MOOC will offer space not only to develop CPD for [Healthcare Professionals] HCP, but also offer a structure around which HCP can reflect and discuss these challenges and opportunities presented by CPD in a community based in an online environment.
Some of us had a lively chat on Twitter and Google+ at the weekend. Courses by committee are such fun

As I see it there are two major themes:

The Medical Education theme would cover the domain of the education of health professionals. It would discuss emerging technologies as they are applied to theories of learning and the training, certification, continuing education, and the performance improvement of healthcare professionals.

The Healthcare theme would be about the use of the emerging technologies in the practice of healthcare itself. Talking with and about our patients and our practice and, in particular, how the emerging technologies, the open, digital, networked tools can be used to improve that practice.

I think the problem is probably the name MedEdMOOC as it is more of the first theme. Although it seems to have stuck it also seems to exclude. Maybe there is a better one. Maybe HCPMOOC (Healthcare Professionals MOOC) would be better?

Someone has said just 'build it and they will come [but who will?]'. We need some tools that will broaden access to the course as otherwise it will be an indulgence of a small handful of early adopters.

It may be as simple as having a place on the web to go to register interest and receive updates.

If there were a #MedEdMOOC (or whatever name suits) what do you think it should do?

2 comments:

  1. Thanks Dean:

    To me this can be about #meded. This is a chance to try something new.

    Some may see this narrow focus as low risk and perhaps low reward, but it is a start and it MUST be focused. This debate about structured vs learner driven vs open ended seems to be rhetorical. To promote it and to get people to participate there has to be a plan - I like the 5+1 model as a simple message.

    Moreover, I think that a small group needs to think through what would work over the first 5 weeks...general topics and suggestions that frame the discussion and then see what happens from there. We have to give ourselves some boundaries and then think through what we individually want to study/learn.

    just some thoughts...

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