World's first dementia MOOC attracts mass registrations

The University of Tasmania'a Understanding Dementia massive open online course (MOOC) has attracted 9300 registrations from more than 60 countries, with plans to continue the course twice a year, starting again next March.

The MOOC, which is a free 11-week course delivered online and requires about three hours a week of study, covers both the science of dementia and evidence-based strategies for professional care, is aimed at anyone with an interest in dementia care as well as healthcare professionals, community and residential facility support staff and people in the early stages of the disease.

The MOOC is delivered on the Desire2Learn platform, one of a number of commercial broadcasting platforms that have been launched in recent years to provide MOOCs. Canadian-headquartered Desire2Learn is also used in secondary schools for online learning and has a growing Australian office.

Content includes the anatomy of the brain and nervous system and the pathology of dementia, the different diseases that cause dementia and their symptoms and diagnosis, and the effect of dementia on the person and their behaviours and their palliation and management.

Devised by the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre at UTAS, the course will soon received university accreditation as part of a negotiated study elective unit. The university also runs a fully online Bachelor of Dementia Care degree.

Participants only need a computer and internet connection. The course is best viewed on a full-sized PC or laptop as it uses a lot of videos that require Flash, so it is not recommended that tablets are used at the moment. However, the UTAS IT department is investigating supporting the system using browsers on iPads and Android tablets to make the MOOC more mobile friendly.

The next course starts in March 2014 and registrations of interest are now open.

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