The University of Tasmania’s Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre’s Understanding Dementia Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) has been listed in the top 50 online courses of all time, including number one in the health and medical category.
The latest listing comes from the Class Central MOOC aggregator and rater, which is based on user ratings from more than 6,000 MOOCs delivered by more than 600 universities worldwide.
Since it first began in 2013, the Understanding Dementia MOOC has attracted more than 70,000 participants from 170 countries.
Wicking Centre Co-Director James Vickers said the success of the course showed a strong international demand for high-quality education in dementia.
“The Understanding Dementia MOOC has a completion rate of 38 per cent, which is among the highest of any MOOC and speaks to the quality of the course,” he said.
“The Class Central listing further underscores the course’s quality and popularity, and the importance of accessible education for what is a key public health issue.”
Professor Vickers said the Understanding Dementia MOOC had attracted the interest of global experts such as UK Professor John Keady, who speaks on dementia-friendly communities in the next course.
He also credited the popularity of the MOOC to the forums provided for participants where they could discuss important issues faced by people with dementia with family carers and related health professionals.
The Wicking Centre, which is part of the University’s Faculty of Health, recently introduced a second online course, the Preventing Dementia MOOC, which attracted more than 11,000 participants in its first intake.
Enrolments are now being taken for the next Understanding Dementia MOOC course, which opens next Tuesday (30 August, 2016).
For more information or to enrol go to www.utas.edu.au/wicking/understanding-dementia
