UTAS' first MOOC follows introduction of well-received Associate Degree in Dementia Care
When Professor Andrew Robinson and his colleagues at the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre conducted a national survey examining what people really knew about dementia - "probably the health issue of the 21st century" - the results were "scary".
"For example, we found that 50 per cent of aged-care facility staff didn’t know that you died of dementia - they didn’t understand that they were caring for people on a trajectory to death. There was no cure, no remission, no treatment," Wicking’s Co-Director (with Prof James Vickers) said at the launch of the world’s first Massive Open Online Course devoted to dementia education.
"We found that more than 60 per cent of family members didn’t know that. That was quite shocking to us."
That survey inspired the development of two significant dementia education initiatives. The first was an Associate Degree in Dementia Care.
"Market research suggested otherwise but we have 400 people in NSW, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT enrolled in that course today. We haven’t even tapped the other states yet. It is proof that there is this incredible market, this incredible desire and need, for education on dementia," Prof Robinson said.
"Then we considered how we were going to educate members of the public, policy makers, bureaucrats, executives and nurses. We decided that we really needed a ‘primer’. And that’s what the MOOC is about.
"It is a cutting-edge educational product that will position Wicking, and UTAS, on a global scale."
The free 11-week course, Understanding Dementia, which goes live on July 29, has already attracted more than 3000 registrants internationally. It was officially launched on Tuesday 16 July 2013 by Professor Denise Fassett, Dean of the Faculty of Health Science.
Prof Robinson, speaking at the launch, said the MOOC was testimony to the fact that Wicking was a world leader in the field of dementia research and education.
"I challenge anyone to find another course that examines the neuropathology of dementia and how that links to symptoms, and how that links to care. Others take bits but don’t look at it holistically. We can do that at Wicking because we bring together neuroscientists, social scientists, health service researchers, and psychologists and sociologists into the one very creative mix, and that’s how we ended up with this MOOC."
Prof Fassett said MOOCs have had a significant disruptive effect on education, in particular higher education.
"In recent months we have seen other Australian universities, such as the University of Melbourne, ANU and the University of Queensland, embrace the MOOC phenomenon. UTAS is now poised to make an entry based on its current research and teaching strengths with the world's first MOOC devoted to dementia.
"We have taken a discrete and targeted approach in an area of community need that links genuinely cutting-edge research with teaching and learning expertise.
"This MOOC is designed to appeal to a broad range of students, from healthcare professionals to residential facility support staff, health policy makers to social scientists and people in the early stages of dementia, their family members and friends, and all those with a general interest in the condition.
"Participants will have the opportunity to meet an international network of peers online."
Prof Fassett concluded by quoting the title of a 2010 book by Taylor Walsh on how universities are opening up access to their courses.
"What we are seeing today is an unlocking of the gates as UTAS proudly enters this digital space, in an area that we believe will have significant meaning and value to our community."
See also:
http://www.utas.edu.au/tools/recent-news/news/free-dementia-education-goes-global