Danna's OTL542 Final Project

OTL542 Final Project

A Communication and Tracking Tool for a Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Study

Stage 1 of Project
Project Description
My project is built around drug studies at an arthritis practice in the Phoenix area. In order to fund the project, the drug manufacturer requires the practice give detailed feedback and results of medications and therapies. Stress is often a trigger to an arthritis flare, counseling sessions, both face-to-face and virtual have been built into the study. Assessment, communication and willingness of participants are key reasons to build this support site in Blackboard. As I describe through this blog, the critical considerations and pieces of information to create a supportive and cost effective monitoring and communication tool, it will be easy to see why Blackboard and it's functionality is best. Blackboard will be a terrific shell to hold v-blog, links to 2nd Life and assessments and quizzes regarding medications.

Stage 2 of Project
Defining the Problem
How does the Phoenix Arthitis Clinic manage the data and feedback from the study participants and provide counseling support?
Blackboard could manage this effectively through the grade book function. Pre-built daily and weekly assessments could be built into the testing and be delivered automatically. The counseling session requirement that is used in conjunction with the medication could be handled virtually. Links in Blackboard could shoot participants out to blogs and 2nd life for virtual counseling. The practice could use Blackboard to manage training for nurses and help with certifications. All of this would show best practices to drug manufacturer to enable the practice to receive more studies in the future. Using Blackboard to manage the studies could lead to more studies being funded because it's efficient and gives the drug access to feedback regardless of time.

Stage 2 of Project, cont.
Project Details
When I create plans for training, I usually fit the content into buckets and then find a way to organize so its easy for the student/learner. I've chosen Blackboard as the shell for the content because it helps organize the content into the buckets that are important in the study. When I decided that assessment was an important part of the study it lead to selecting Blackboard for its ease in creating and managing testing. Since the clinic wants to participate in more studies in the future, creating some generic questions that can be saved in a question bank will save time, money and resources as the questions don't need to be recreated. Another important aspect of the project is the communication and support. Using the discussion board, blogs, 2nd Life are all various forms of communication and can be managed from the navigation buttons.

Additional Considerations:
Should we build our own course to manage resources needed to build the site?
Collaboration and the sharing of resources are key to building an effective site to support community. If we choose to do this, the following links to articles should be housed under a resources tab.
Accessibility
https://www.washington.edu/accessit/it-checklist/
Theory and Practice of Online Learning
Available for free online at: http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/ch2.html
7 things you should know about video blogging
http://connect.educause.edu/Library/ELI/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAbout/39382

Universal Design
Giving participants a variety of ways to communicate helps build a personal experience and address many needs. While online learning offers some advantages for students with learning disabilities, it also poses special problems. More information than ever is available to students through online learning, but it is not always barrier free (Schmetzke, 2001). A lack of awareness on the part of instructors and institutions of how online resources are used by students with disabilities has contributed to increased resources without increased access. (Cook, Gladhart, 2002) Thinking about this course, I suggest getting help from a special needs educator to make sure we are building the site to meet the needs of all participants, especially those who may need modifications or assistive technologies support.

Adult Learners
As I think about the partipants in the study, all are adult learners, and motivated (because of selection criteria), to learn. Participants in the study will be be similar to students who decide on online learning as a means to earn a degree.

Learning Community
There are many reasons to build a learning community among the participants in the study. One of the main reasons is because of the assessement requirement needed by the drug study sponsors and doctors at the clinic. The challenge of online learning is to provide high quantity and quality of assessment while maintaining student interest and commitment. These goals are often best achieved through the development of a learning community. The article link below will help build the course as it discusses the theories of online learning. (Anderson, 2008)
http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/ch2.html

Accessible Online Learning
When thinking about online learning technologies, it is also important to ask some essential questions, both of ourselves, our institution and fellow instructors, especially if UD principles are not a part of the online course design process:
When we purchase multimedia products, do we take steps to ensure they include captions and audio descriptions?
Do we have a system in place for captioning any multimedia products that we create internally?
Do we have a system in place for adding audio description to any multimedia products that we create internally?
Is there a variety of hardware- and software-based assistive technologies readily available for students with disabilities?
Does my institution have a procedure to assure a quick response to requests for disability-related accommodations?
Do we have a designated staff member and/or committee who ensures that services are accessible to students with disabilities and responds to requests for accommodations?
Is there computer support and help desk staff are trained in the maintenance and use of assistive technology?
Do the instructors and staff receive training on how to respond to requests for disability-related accommodations?
(Adapted from Information Technology in Education Accessibility Checklist)







Blackboard Course Introduction Video

Permanent Announcement on the Home Page
Living a happy and fulfilling life for individuals with rheumatoid arthritis can sometimes be challenging. Individuals may need adjustments in physical activities, emotional support, career and job advice and information and options in medications and treatments. It's important for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to have a variety of supports in place to help with the day-to-day issues that arise for people with RA. The Phoenix Arthritis Clinic has partnered with a large drug manufacturer to study the effects and outcomes of a new drug that is designed to work in conjunction with counseling therapy. Individuals involved in the study will receive free medication and as well as access to face-to-face counseling and virtual support through online communication tools. These face-to-face counseling sessions will happen during their bi-weekly doctor visits. They will also participate in many online support sessions and monitor their results with an online tracking system. For information about joining this outstanding opportunity to test new therapies and medications, please talk to your doctor, here at The Phoenix Arthritis Clinic.

The key buckets that will become navigation buttons in this order include:
Feedback on Medications and Counseling (Testing)
Since feedback and assessment is a critical piece of the study, it's the first button on the navigation bar. A weekly reminder to participants to take their assessment and provide feedback will be displayed on the home page. Course management systems aren't designed to encourage innovative teaching. As products marketed to institutions help them integrate resources, they are designed for inventory control. (Lane, 2008) Lane's thoughts on course management systems is important because the most important issue is the management of the data and the integration of the resources.

Communication and Discussion (Discussion Board)
Learning used to be the act of pushing content to students and then instructors asking for feedback. With the advancements in technology, learning has moved to a more social activity and web tools have been created to enhance the experience. Today, students collaborate on how to solve problems using technology that didn't exist a few years ago. Behind the Communication and Discussion Button, there will be weekly questions or discussion ideas posted for the participants to discuss. Since there will be support and help for participants to create blogs and v-blogs, counselors may help post an interview with one of the participants and have her show a modification for exercise for the group to discuss. You may ask, What are the implications of podcasting for teaching and learning ? For example, podcasting allows lectures or other course content to be made available to students if they miss class. Beyond missed lectures, podcasting can provide access to experts through interviews. (Educause, 2005) This is a great way for experts including our doctors, to share information with patients. The podcast allows doctors to see patients during office hours and create a podcast that all can access at anytime or anyplace.
I've posted an example below:




Virtual Counseling (Link to 2nd Life or Virtual Counseling)
Behind the Virtual Counseling button will be a link to 2nd Life. In 2nd Life, I'll create a virtual Phoenix Arthritis Clinic where there will be a virtual counseling room to hold group and individual therapy. I also plan to talk to the local chapter of the Phoenix Arthritis Foundation about adding a virtual meeting room for more city-wide discussions about arthritis. This will be a low cost enhancement to the bi-weekly face-to-face therapy that participants receive. If participants prefer, they can opt for online therapy only. I want to give as many options as possible to participants for them to find the best personal options as they decide how to take part in the study and follow up.

Virtual Journaling (Link to Blogspot)
Behind the Virtual Journaling button, participants will have the opportunity to use journaling as a way to communicate about their RA. The journaling can be something they post for others to read, or it can be private. The main purpose of the journaling button is another communication tool that gives participants choice in how they communicate and use their resources for support. The support is key and helps people with RA manage stress which is a major trigger to an RA flare. Here' a link to an example:
http://dannahollanderblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/discussion-and-journal-for-drug-study.html
Support and Help (Notes on How to Navigate, Schedule Live Tutorial, Set Up Training on V-Blogs, WebEx Info on Technology Trainings)
Tutorials will be posted behind this button giving participants access anytime to training and help. During the bi-weekly doctor visits, training and will be offered to each person with the encouragement to try something new - podcast, blog, 2nd Life. If needed mentors and buddy groups will be added to help support the participants.

Additional Resources (Links to Many Support Sites)
This is simple link to a blog where people can add to an ongoing list of resources and services. The principle is that the group owns the resources and adds more as she discovers them.

Stage 3 of Project
FAQs
There are a number of obvious questions that will be asked about the project. They could include:

Why Blackboard?
It will save us money, resources and time, while providing an outstanding experience for our patients, drug study partners, and doctors.

Will is Cost A lot?
Organizing the drug study information and tracking the results will be effective in a program like Blackboard. Blackboard will save money and resources, while giving patients an expanded experience.

When can I access it and why does that help?
Online access allows partners like the drug companies access at any time results. With drug manufacturers located around the world, partners can gain information when they need it, not just during our office hours.

Why is the communication piece so big?
RA flares often happen when patient is under stress. Giving people a forum to communicate can help take care of the psychological issues that often come up for people with RA.

Summary
Online learning the advancement of social networking tools have changed how we manage resources and support our patients. Moving to online learning for managing our drug studies is a logical next step in the learning society that we live in.