Report on Academic Exchange Programme: Shanghai Open University/African Council for Distance

AFRICAN COUNCIL FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION (ACDE) – SHANGHAI OPEN UNIVERSITY VISITING SCHOLAR PROGRAMME AUTUMN: November, 2017

REPORT ON ACADEMIC EXCHANGE PROGRAMME: SHANGHAI OPEN UNIVERSITY/AFRICAN COUNCIL FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION

Names: Sara Lavinia Brair

Institution: Al Neelain University

Title of the Project: Training doctors in educational issues related to e-learning

Physical Address:Al Neelain University, Al Mogran, P.O. Box 12702

Email:

Mobile phone no: 00249912224484

2017

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Prof. Kamal Hashim and Prof. Tarig Abbas for their continuous support for distance education and for supporting y travel to China

I would also like to acknowledge Prof Rotimi Ogidan for his support and continuous follow up for the Shanghai visiting scholar program

My thanks and gratitude goes to the Shanghai Open University team for their hospitality and generosity during the stay at Shanghai open university, and many thanks to Dorothy and Charles for their update and rigorous follow up during the program

Table of Contents

Content / Page no.
Introduction about the university
Introduction to research
Objective of the project
Methodology
Findings
Learning experience
Conclusion

1. Introduction

Al Neelain university is a public university located inKhartoum,Sudan. It was founded in 1955 as a branch of Cairo university and was changed to Al Neelain university with a presidential decree in 1993. Al Neelain started with 3 – colleges at the time (Law, Commerce and Art). In 1993, it added new faculties, making them 19 faculties with a total enrollment of 47365, making it the second biggest university in Sudan. Today the university has 90,000 students in undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Al Neelain University serves around 20% of the Sudanese higher education students. One of the first universities in Sudan that has adopted distance education – with concentration on e-learning.

Vision:

To create a bright future in which Al Neelain University is recognized as a leader among public universities in:

•Teaching, scholarships, and public services

•Economic development

•Scientific research

•Arts and culture

Mission:

The core mission of the Al Neelain University is to prepare an ambitious generation to contribute to community development at the scientific, cultural and economic levels.

Al Neelain University Faculties:

Scientific and Health Profession faculties:

•Medicine

•Pharmacy

•Optometry and Visual Sciences

•Medical Laboratories

•Dentistry

•Physiotherapy

•Nursing Sciences

•Agriculture technology and Fish Sciences

•Science and Technology

•Petroleum and Minerals

•Engineering

•Mathematical Sciences & Statistics

•Computer and information technology

Social and Humanity faculties:

•Law

•Education

•Community Development

•Economics and Social Studies

•Commerce

•Arts

And the:

•Graduate College

Al Neelain University has the following deanships:

•Deanship of Scientific Research

•Student’s Affairs Deanship

•Deanship of Libraries

•Deanship of Quality, Academic and Professional Development

•Environment Deanship

•Admission Deanship

•E-learning Deanship (a recently added deanship), has succeeded in implementing computerized examination system

Al Neelain University has established 6 research institutes:

1. Al Neelain Institute of Pre-University Education and Research
2. Al Neelain Institute of Language Education and Research
3. Al Neelain Institute of Economic, Social and Law studies
4. Al Neelain Institute for Engineering, Technology and Computer Researches
5. Al Neelain Medical Research Institute
6. Al Neelain Stem Cell Research Centre

Al Neelain University Partnerships:

The university has been able to attract many collaboration agreements with both International and National Universities. The following are Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with universities:

•MOU with Italian embassy at Khartoum (signed recently) started with receiving visiting professors, establishing Italian language teaching center, organizing training course for Al Neelain University staff members in communication skills and leadership.

•MOU with Turkish universities including: exchange of student, visiting staff members for one semester course study.

•Members of the ACDE (North Africa Region) – collaboration with Shanghai University for visiting professor joint research collaboration.

•Al Neelain University has partnership with Maryland University since 2013

•It is a partnership for the execution of a diploma degree in Research Methodology and Ethics. It is an online degree of 25 credit hours

•Prof. Henry from Maryland University visits Sudan at the beginning of each intake of a new batch for a 3-day face to face workshop, after which student continue with a 12-months online course (12 modules)

•The MOU also includes exchange of staff, conference attendance and teaching collaboration

Grants:

•Al Neelain in partnership with Khartoum University and the Ministry of Health received a grant from the EDCTP worth 500,000 Euro for the Ethical Review of Sudan National Guidelines as well as training of IRBs and RECs

There are many researches that are joint researches:

•Research with Ministry of Health regarding Reasons for doctors

•Research with a German University on Genetics of psoriasis – still going on

•Research in archeology partnership with International Professors

•25 funded researches by the Ministry of Education in the past 2-years

•Research ethics for staff and IRBs in Sudan

•Research methods

•Supervision for staff

•Proposal writing for staff

•Teaching methods

•Distance and online teaching

•Leadership, management

•Communication skills

•Specific training in each faculty based on demand (both university staff and market)

The Deanship of Scientific Research is directly under my responsibility and it has the task of increasing and improving research at the level of the university. I am an Associate Professor in the field of Public Health.

China visit:

The visit to Shanghai Open University (SOU) took place in the period from Nov. 13th – Nov. 24th, 2017. The period was a very rich period of visits to the different schools at the Shanghai Open University and I personally as a scholar have learnt a lot about the different methods used in teaching and the impact of the different methods have on the community and the staff working at the university.

The educational resource center at SOU is a very well established center and the capabilities the center has were very well organized and structured. I suggested that we have the same at Al Neelain University.

SOU has demonstrated very high competence in the social accountability aspect, where it is seen in all the braches that are part of the university. The Yangpu Branch and Qingpu Branch. The programs that are there for the disabled and the deaf is also a very successful way of reaching the community.

Introduction to the research:

This is a time of innovation in health professional education, when changes in health care delivery systems have profound implications for teaching and learning. There is public and professional demand for more relevance in educational programs with funding bodies and government requiring accountability and quality in education.

Health Profession Education is an important aspect for quality assurance of the graduating medical doctors. The goal of most Medical Universities is to graduate good competent doctors, therefore, in order to achieve this goal one has to put special emphasis on training the doctors who are teaching medical students on medical education issues.

E-learning is a common term for electronic learning which means imparting knowledge, teaching or learning with the support of electronic devices such as computers, tablets, and other mobile devices. It is currently in wide corporate use as a practical alternative to classroom training. It is accessible at any time, is taken at the learner’s pace, and can be delivered in various modes: online, stand-alone, and mobile.

The most important advantages in e-learning for training the staff at the university are:

• Cost-Effective.E-learning does not require many cost-intensive factors inherent in traditional training. These include providing trainers, suitable venues, and the necessity of finding a common time for all concerned.

• Efficient.By reducing the time needed to deliver information, e-learning ensures that learners spend less time away from productive work and enable them with the flexibility to manage their time efficiently.

• Customized.E-learning can be delivered in a personal and customized way, thus making significant impact on the learners. Customization imparts well-planned learning content that can adjust to any learning style, regardless of age group. The increased effectiveness through the customization of the delivery of knowledge, in both education and training, will be helpful for both learners and instructors.

E-learning has proven to be an efficient and effective substitute for traditional teaching methods – sometimes it is also used in combination with traditional learning. This is why more government and private organizations worldwide are adopting e-learning.

Problem Statement and justification:

Most teachers working in Sudanese universities were taught in the student centered approach and most universities are still teaching in the traditional approach. Al Neelain University has adopted the hybrid type curriculum which is not purely like the spices model and not entirely traditional. It is trying to move up the spices model and as a result there should be good quality training of teachers on medical education issues (such as teaching methods, proper assessment methods and problem based learning) so as to cope with the changes in the curriculum. Al Neelain has also started an era of e-learning and therefore it is high time to train staff involved in the teaching of e-learning and more staff who will be involved in the near future in the teaching of online courses.

1. Objective of the Project

• Main Objective
• To train the staff at Al Neelain University in Educational Issues related to e-learning

• Specific Objectives:
• To train the staff in curriculum and course design
• To train the staff in assessment methods
• To train the staff in teaching and learning methods
• To train the staff in e-learning issues

1. Methodology:

The Continuing Medical Education Department will conduct a series of workshops so that all permanent and part time staff at Al Neelain University are included at some time in the workshops in medical education. The curriculum at Al Neelain University is divided into phases: basic sciences, pre-clinical and clinical. The departments in each phase are identified and each department will have its own series of workshops so as to allow maximum benefit of the workshops and to relate the workshop sessions to the department’s need.

• Design:

This was an interventional institutional based study.

• Sample size and Sampling Techniques:

Total coverage of all staff that participate in e-learning courses or degree programs. There are 2 academic programs that are online at Al Neelain University, one is a diploma in Research Methodology and Ethics and the other is a Master Program in Health Profession Education. There are otherprograms that are face to face but have some component of online courses. The staff involved in any of the online teaching were included in the study. Those were a group of 35 academic staff.

• Instruments for Data Collection:

Data was collected in the following ways:

A pre-test and a post test – was done so as to evaluate the level of knowledge before the course and after for comparison and improvement of the training when implemented again.

Questionnaire – Personal data and experience and qualifications of participants was collected using a standardized self-administered questionnaire.

Checklist – for the tasks that have been accomplished well.

• Data Analysis Techniques:

Data was analyzed using a simple excel sheet to keep record of the participant’s names and personal data as well as their results in the pre and post-tests. Personal data and checklist tasks was also analyzed in the excel sheet.

1. Findings:

35 participants were trained

Table 1: Personal data about participants

Item / Time in years
Less than 4 years
% / 4-6 years
% / More than 6 years
%
Experience in teaching / 24 / 71 / 5
Experience in e-learning / 27 / 65 / 8
Years
Age of participants / Less than 35 years / 35 – 40 years / More than 40 years
58 / 30 / 12
Number of courses
Number of courses online participants teach / Less than 3
% / 3 – 5
% / More than 5
%
68 / 29 / 3

Table 2: Grades of participants in the pre and post-test

Item / Pre-test / Post-test
Pass / Fail / Pass / Fail
Participants Grade / 55 / 45 / 75 / 15

Table 3: Grades of participants in the pre and post-test

Item / Pre-test / Post-test
Pass / Fail / Pass / Fail
Participants Grade for the curriculum design module / 60 / 40 / 80 / 20

Table 4: Grades of participants in the pre and post-test

Item / Pre-test / Post-test
Pass / Fail / Pass / Fail
Participants Grade for the e-learning module / 75 / 25 / 92 / 8

Table 5: Grades of participants in the pre and post-test

Item / Pre-test / Post-test
Pass / Fail / Pass / Fail
Participants Grade for the assessment module / 67 / 33 / 79 / 21

Table 6: Grades of participants in the pre and post-test

Item / Pre-test / Post-test
Pass / Fail / Pass / Fail
Participants Grade for the teaching and learning module / 77 / 23 / 97 / 3

1. Learning Experience:
2. Lessons Learnt:

• Creating an effective e-learning program is no easy task. It takeshard work, commitment,continuous trial and error.
• Continuous self-learning, course completions aren’t everything
• Creating an e-learning course is not a one-time thing, continuous update is important

5.2Challenges:

The following challenges came up from the participants when we discussed the challenges that they potentially see:

• Strength of internet signal – it has caused a few problems during the execution of the course
• Large group – made it difficult for individual follow up
• Make e-learning easy to access and user friendly and easy to use
• Creating the best authoring tools for an engaging, interesting and effective e-learning
• Tracking usage and give students credit for taking courses
• Reduce development time to something reasonable and affordable
• Making e-learning successful

1. Conclusions:

• Participants designed good coursesat the end of the training course
• Participants did not do so well in the assessment module in the post test
• Skills for teaching online improved – such as discussion forums and follow up of students
• Skills for designing power-point and designing material to be used online

1. Recommendations:

• More courses should be done at the end of the so as to improve and upgrade skills of the staff towards teaching online
• A smaller group maximum 20 persons so as to allow the hands on follow up of the participants
• Participants should have another training on the assessment module

1. References:

1.Dickson, L and Galyenb, K. E-Learning, online learning, and distance learning environments: Are they the same?

2.Oliver, M and Trigwell, K. Can ‘Blended Learning’ Be Redeemed? Volume: 2 issue: 1, page(s): 17-26.

3.Noesgaard, s and Orngreen, R. The Effectiveness of E-Learning: An Explorative and Integrative Review of the Definitions, Methodologies and Factors that Promote e-Learning Effectiveness. Available from: file:///C:/Users/Sara%20Lavinia/Downloads/ejel-volume13-issue4-article438.pdf. Accessed on 12.12.2017.

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