Training & Education
FutureLearn platform incorporates aspects of social media such as ‘likes’ and ‘following’ along with peer reviews and comment analysis. The contact with the lead academic on the course is evident and this gives a much more personal feel to the course delivery. “What we have done is bring together the best of
The Open University’s distance learning expertise and pedagogy and blend that with the best elements of the social web. We’ve used the expertise of the people who built the BBC iPlayer to create a delightful user experience, with the result being a pedagogically robust platform that also makes learning really enjoyable,” says Lester. A search of the list of health-related titles currently
on FutureLearn’s website reveals topics like the anatomy of the human abdomen, Parkinson’s Disease, how to manage patients with swallowing difficulties, caring for vulnerable children and understanding drugs and addition, all of which, Lester says, bring together learners from all points of the healthcare spectrum. “Last year we introduced a course called ‘Inside
Cancer’ from the University of Bath and were overwhelmed, and quite humbled, to see patients, carers and family members interacting with doctors, nurses and researchers throughout. Those shared experiences and perspectives brought an immediacy to the issues being discussed which is difficult, if not impossible, to replicate off the platform.” Lester goes on explain how closely his team
works with its academic partners – like King’s College London, and the Universities of Birmingham, Reading, Leeds and Newcastle, to name a few – to cover practical subjects with universal resonance for medical professionals, while also addressing topical issues in a timely fashion. “In response to the Ebola outbreak, for instance,
two of our partners – the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Lancaster University produced two courses on the humanitarian crisis. “The first, featuring LSHTM Director Professor Peter
Piot, whose early work helped to identify the Ebola virus, targeted practitioners with expert information about its transmission, and practical accounts advice on how to control the spread of the disease. Lancaster’s course had a very different but equally important function – going behind the headlines to
MARK LESTER
Mark Lester is Global Head of Education Partnerships at FutureLearn, the UK-based massive social learning platform, and a member of its Executive team. Prior to joining FutureLearn, Mark headed strategy development at the British Open University, has held senior management positions in the financial services sector and central Government, and was
has been a senior advisor to multinational organisations and governments on innovation strategy, industry competitiveness, business strategy and healthcare policy. Mark holds a Masters of Science degree and a Bachelor of Science degree from the LSE and trained as a teacher at the Institute of Education, London. He is married with two children.
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FutureLearn
inform the wider public about the symptoms, history and origins of the outbreak.” Each FutureLearn course is broken up into weeks
running Monday to Sunday, which each of those weeks broken down further into self-contained steps. A typical course lasts 6-8 weeks but the team is finding that 2-3 week courses can also be useful. Lester stresses the importance of building storytelling elements into each course, giving each one a clear beginning, middle and end to navigate learners through the process and keep them engaged. “The great thing about our courses is that they are
designed in bite-sized chunks that you can access anywhere on a mobile device. You could download a 5 minute video to watch on the go if you wanted to. Learners wouldn’t have to sit and watch an hour long lecture; instead they would be watching a short video during a bus journey and engaging in conversation with thousands of people.” All the universities’ courses are free, but a printed
Statement of Participation which can be presented as evidence of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) costs £29. Additional validation of learning can be obtained by taking a physical exam at the end of the course, with successful students earning themselves a certificate branded by the University and FutureLearn. It is also possible for its university partners to create pathways from MOOCs into formal qualifications. Lester runs through the range of motivations for
employees opting to take FutureLearn courses for CPD purposes, chief among them being the global reputations and brands of the universities delivering them. “The pedigree of the content is high and we apply rigorous quality control to everything we present, he explains. “Employers can enrol their staff on a course created by King’s College London, for instance, and the participants could then write on their CVs that they received training developed by that institution.” FutureLearn is now also offering invitation only
courses – created for a fee – for organisations and health systems looking to shake up their training programmes. The value for employers, Lester says, is that FutureLearn’s social learning platform, unlike existing e-learning systems, can help replicate face-to-face dialogue and instruction in a digital environment. And crucially, it’s a much more affordable way of delivering education and training. “Courses on FutureLearn provide powerful ways
of recruiting people into professions in Healthcare, complementing teaching from medical schools and other formal instruction, and offering tasters for specialised medical disciplines”, he adds. “FutureLearn is a social learning experience which
is absolutely tailored to today’s way of living,” says Lester. “By helping practitioners engage with each other in a neutral environment it can only bring a positive benefit. And if it’s not costing healthcare providers to help train their staff, it’s a no brainer, isn’t it?”
Further information
partner.enquiries@futurelearn.com.
global-opportunity.co.uk Issue 01 | Global Opportunity Healthcare 2015 57
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