Why should I develop distance
learning or online CPD courses?
Professor Rebecca Bennett
My background
• Philosopher working in medical ethics
for 21 years.
• Developed
a
distance
learning
MA/LLM in Healthcare Ethics and Law
which launched in February 2002.
• In September 2011 launched short
non-award bearing online courses in
Healthcare Ethics and Law
Worries about Distance/online
Learning
• It’s dumbing down
• It will remove the need for
teaching/teachers
• It’s expensive and time consuming to
develop and deliver
• Students will do less well than in face to
face teaching
• Spending all this time on DL and online
learning will harm my promotion
prospects.
The positives I have found in
distance and online learning
• It has allowed my Centre to reach markets we
would not otherwise reach and allowed us to
survive in a shrinking market.
• Developing distance and online learning
resources and interfaces has encouraged our
staff to use this experience to enrich campus
based courses and enhance the student
experience on campus.
• Developing these materials has allowed me to
understand my teaching better and improve
the other teaching I do.
The positives I have found in
distance and online learning
• Students do as well if not better on well
designed online and distance learning
courses – and these courses allow
students more flexibility.
• Spending time on Distance learning
and online learning didn’t harm my
promotion prospects.
But
• they are expensive and time
consuming to develop and deliver.
2 ends of the DL spectrum
• MA/LLM/PGDip/PGCert in Healthcare
Ethics and Law – formal teaching and
assessment, award bearing
• Online CPD courses in Healthcare
Ethics and Law – self-guided learning
and online assessment, non-award
bearing.
Why Distance Learning?
• Distance Learning MA/LLM has been
highly successful allowing us to maintain
the market share in a shrinking market.
• Online CPD courses allow us to:
– Increase income
– Bring more students into our Masters level
programmes
– Provide us with flexible online materials to use
to support other teaching activities.
MA/LLM by DL
CPD/online courses by DL
Attendance
No attendance – optional study
day per year
No attendance
Award
Masters level awards, PGCert
and PGDiploma
No academic award but CPD
points available.
Assessment
Essays and dissertation
Online quizzes (no marking
needed)
Delivery
Open University style delivery
Through Dreamweaver webpages
with online materials,
embedded in Blackboard or
discussions, multimedia etc and another VLE.
posted out workbooks.
Workload
Relatively heavy: DL at masters
level done well involves
extended one-to-one
interaction with students
Very light: These courses are
designed to need very little input
from staff apart from a few hours a
year updating.
Price
£6,500 (non EU £14,500)
£90-600
Development
Based on existing campus
based Masters – initially
emulating the structure of this
existing programme.
Based on my experience of the
needs of healthcare professionals
and healthcare and life science
students.
Online/CPD courses
Designed to work on different levels
• For individuals:
– You can work through the materials,
consolidate with the summary and
complete the online quizzes.
– You can do all of the above but in
addition follow up the extra reading (via
the University Library) and use video
lectures and other resources.
Online/CPD courses
Designed to work on different levels
• For organisations/courses:
– These online courses can be used to support
UG or PGT courses where specialist teaching
may be needed e.g. nursing, audiology,
medicine, dentistry, optometry.
– Adding different assessment to these courses
allows them to be flexible and work for these
further purposes.
– These courses can be used across campus
and I intend to sell them to other institutions.
Current online CPD
• Medical Decision-Making: Ethics and Law
– Introduction to Health Care Ethics and Law
– Introduction to law and legal research
– The moral and legal importance of the principle of
respect for individual autonomy
– The importance of valid legal consent
– How much information is enough?
– Mental capacity, competence and consent
– Refusal and withdrawal of treatment
– Treating children and adolescents
– Confidentiality
Current online CPD
• Introduction to Research Ethics
Coming soon:
• Mental Capacity Law and Deprivation of
Liberty Safeguards
• Genetics and Ethics
• Death or Serious Injury in Healthcare:
Regulation and the Criminal Law
Making distance learning work?
• Know
your
market
and
provide
something that they want.
• Use the tools that work best to provide
this learning experience and fit the needs
of your students – whether this is fully
online, some workbooks, mixed with faceto-face teaching.
• Don’t give up. If you are convinced there
is a good market for these courses keep
going.
http://www.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/tandl/resources/distancelearning/i
ndex.html
For access to a free sample of the CPD
courses email:
Rebecca.Bennett@manchester.ac.uk