The global classroom: A case study in offering epidemiology courses online

The global classroom: a case study in offering epidemiology courses online.

 Epidemiology, as the foundation of public health, is a critical discipline for the public health student. The epidemiologic concepts are always challenging and in today's world, the challenge extends from the lecture hall to the global classroom. The department of Epidemiology at the College of Public Health, (COPH), has evolved its courses over time to embrace the 21st century learning technology.

 The COPH began its distance education program in the early 1980s. Mandated by the State of Florida to educate the public health workforce, faculty travelled the state teaching courses. Faced with increasing demand, the College began offering courses via satellite throughout Florida, to federal agencies and international sites. In 2000, COPH became the first United States college of public health to offer an entirely distance-based Master of Public Health Program.

 In the late 1990s, the College transitioned from a satellite based program to an online format. Epidemiology courses were critical to the success of the online program. With the help of a skilled instructional design team, epidemiology faculty revamped, refurbished and redesigned epidemiology courses for the online environment. Offering epidemiology courses in an online environment posed challenges for instructors and instructional designers. Consequently, emphasis was placed on alignment of learning objectives-content-assessment, enhancing instructional integrity, interactivity and offering practice opportunities that guaranteed student success. Later, web conferencing software was introduced to enhance interaction. Students interacted synchronously with instructors and peers in a dynamic virtual environment. 

 Today, the department supports hundreds of students in the online epidemiology courses. We are adding additional programs in epidemiology of infectious and chronic diseases and in maternal and child health.
The department continues to forge ahead in the distance education environment and is poised to take on the challenges of the web 3.0 environment.