Converting to Online and the Infusion of
One Health and Interdisciplinary Views into
Aquatic Animal Health Courses
Iske V. Larkin, PhD
Heather T.D. Maness, MS

Strong push for expanded online courses/distance education degree programs
• Larger market of students
- Flexibility of asynchronous courses attracts more adult learners
- Global audience
• Likely a direct funding source for your program
• Viewed as a critical part of the long term strategy by the majority of Chief Academic Officers (CAO)
-
Babson survey (Fall 2010)
• NAVMEC recommended as a high priority research area & likely avenue for students & CE

But…
• Attitudes and Biases:
– Quality concerns: Maintaining integrity/Reputation of excellence
– Adaptivity of instructors
– Course difficulty/ease
Perceptions of CAO’s: online vs. traditional
– Increased cheating
– Legitimacy of online degree programs

• Explore instructional design concepts
– Instructional Design: The practice of creating instructional experiences which make the acquisition of knowledge and skills more efficient, effective, and appealing
•
Provide interdisciplinary experiences
– Diversify faculty and students
• Evaluate technology tools and user satisfaction
• Assess student learning : Maintain standards of excellence and make improvements where possible (including adding more expert lecturers to courses which physical logistics prevented previously)

Collaborative Teaching:
UF Emerging Pathogens Institute
UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
University of Florida
UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Throughout the University

Collaborative Teaching:
UF Emerging Pathogens Institute
University of South Carolina Texas A&M University
UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
New College of Florida
Howard University
University of Central Florida
Florida International University
University of Florida
UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
University of North Carolina
Duke University and with other universities

Collaborative Teaching:
UF Emerging Pathogens Institute
University of South Carolina Texas A&M University
UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
New College of Florida
Howard University
University of Central Florida
Florida International University
University of Florida
US Fish and Wildlife Service
UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
University of North Carolina
Duke University including Govt. agencies

Collaborative Teaching:
Lowry Park Zoo UF Emerging Pathogens Institute
University of South Carolina SeaWorld Texas A&M University
UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Georgia Aquarium
New College of Florida Mote Marine Laboratory
Howard University
University of Central Florida
Disney Animal Programs
Florida International University
University of Florida
Chicago Zoological Society US Fish and Wildlife Service
UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Florida Museum of Natural History
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
University of North Carolina Sea to Shore Alliance
Duke University
Plus the private sector/non-profits

• Undergraduates
• Graduate students
• Veterinary students
• CE – Professionals: Biologists, Veterinarians, Aquarists

• Lecture presentations:

• Lecture presentations:
• Discussion section methods: Online discussion boards, by

• Lecture presentations:
• Discussion section methods: Online discussion boards, by
• Specialized online tool: ImageScope by

• Evaluated 3 courses via electronic survey
(Respondents = 158 students, responses to individual questions ranged from 77 – 158 students)
Introduction to Aquatic Wildlife Health Issues
Aquatic Animal Conservation Issues
Manatee Health and Conservation
• Collected anecdotal feedback in 4 courses from Course
Coordinators and instructors (n = 60)
- Same as above plus Introduction to Fish and Aquatic Invertebrate
Histological Techniques
Check out our courses at: http://aquatic.vetmed.ufl.edu

Which of the following best describes your preference for online courses?
Prefer Fully Online
Prefer >50% Online
Prefer <50% Online
Prefer Trad.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
# of student responses (N = 151)

Did the technology used in this course allow you to understand the material better?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75
# of student responses (N = 157)
Did the technology used in this course increase your interest in the subject matter?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75
# of student responses (N = 158)

Did the Mediasite format of the lectures provide the same level of learning as traditional, live lectures?
Learned Significantly More
Learned More
Neutral
Learned Less
Learned Significantly Less
Faculty Comments:
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85
# of student responses (N = 151)
- Cannot use a laser pointer
- Cannot play videos easily
Likes that there is a “talking head” not just narrated PPT
Student Comments :
- Mediasite uses Microsoft Silverlight which is not supported by iPad (iPhone currently supported)

Did the Adobe Connect format of the discussion sections provide the same level of learning as traditional classroom discussions?
Learned Signifcantly More
Learned More
Neutral
Learned Less
Learned Significantly Less
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95
# of student responses (N = 156)
Instructor Comments :
- Student participation highly variable . EC increased participation

How would you rate your overall learning experience?
Excellent
Above Average
Average
Below Average
Poor
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30
# of student responses from 2013 classes (N = 77)
How does your experience in this class rank compared to other online courses offered outside of UF CVM?
Top 1%
Top 5%
Top 10%
Top 25%
Top 50%
Lower 50%
N/A
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
# of student responses from 2013 classes (N = 77)

• Technology appeared to enhance learning (both the interest in and understanding of the material)
• Mediasite lectures equivalent to traditional, classroom lectures
• Adobe Connect sessions similar to classroom discussion sections
• Richer content from having varied faculty
– Collaboration/ team approach

We would like to thank all the faculty and students that provided this valuable feedback and the Aquatic Animal Health
Program at the University of Florida for its tremendous support.
This study was conducted under
IRB reference #: U-1113-2011

“The different lecturers was my favorite part. It made every lecture a little more interesting since you weren't listening to the same person every week.”
“I loved having the opportunity to learn from the experts and will always value the knowledge they shared. This class was a great introduction to the things I might want to do with my career later in life …”
“This class was unique in that numerous people, who 100% knew their field, presented different topics. Very rarely can one teacher specialize in all of these fields to such detail in which students can grasp a variety of knowledge.”