Heini Utunen, Ranil Appuhamy, Melissa Attias, Ngouille Ndiaye, Richelle George, Elham Arabi and Anna Tokar
OpenWHO is the World Health Organization's online learning platform that was launched in 2017. The COVID-19 pandemic led to massive growth in the number of courses, enrolments and…
Abstract
Purpose
OpenWHO is the World Health Organization's online learning platform that was launched in 2017. The COVID-19 pandemic led to massive growth in the number of courses, enrolments and reach of the platform. The platform is built on a stable and scalable basis that can host a large volume of learners. The authors aim to identify key factors that led to this growth.
Design/methodology/approach
In this research paper, the authors examined OpenWHO metadata, end-of-course surveys and internal processes using a quantitative approach.
Findings
OpenWHO metadata showed that the platform has hosted over 190 health courses in 65 languages and over seven million course enrolments. Since the onset of the pandemic, there have been more women, older people and people from middle income countries accessing courses than before. Following data analysis of the platform metadata and course production process, it was found that several key factors contributed to the growth of the platform. First, OpenWHO has a standardised course production pathway that ensures efficiency, consistency and quality. Further, providing courses in different languages increased its reach to a variety of populations throughout the world. For this, multi-language translation is achieved through a network of translators and an automated system to ensure the efficient translation of learning products. Lastly, it was found that access was promoted for learners with disabilities by optimising accessibility in course production. Data analysis of learner feedback surveys for selected courses showed that the courses were well received in that learners found it useful to complete courses that were self-paced and flexible. In addition, results indicated that preferred learning methods included videos, downloadable documents, slides, quizzes and learning exercises.
Originality/value
Lessons learnt from the WHO's learning response will help prepare researchers for the next health emergency to ensure timely, equitable access to quality health knowledge for everyone. Findings of this study will provide valuable insights for educators, policymakers and researchers in the field who intend to use online learning to optimise knowledge acquisition and performance.
Details
Keywords
Dan Gao, Lin He, Jingru Liu and Zhangchao Li
Digital humanities database is one of the essential tools in digital humanities research area. Therefore, examining the usage of digital humanities database in academic papers is…
Abstract
Purpose
Digital humanities database is one of the essential tools in digital humanities research area. Therefore, examining the usage of digital humanities database in academic papers is conducive to assessing the value of digital humanities database for scientific research activities and improving the construction of digital humanities infrastructure.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper constructs an evaluation system of digital humanities database from the perspective of academic influence and social influence, with mention frequency, usage motivation, platform access data, usage region and usage discipline as indicators and takes China Biographical Database Project as the empirical object to explore the usage of digital humanities database in China.
Findings
The data analysis result demonstrates that digital humanities databases are widely used and recognized in China. However, the problem of low actual usage remains.
Originality/value
This paper constructs the digital humanistic database's evaluation system and discusses applying the digital humanistic database in China, which provides a new perspective and method for the influence evaluation study of the digital humanistic database.