The collaborative ISRRT/Philips International Access to Learning Pilot Program - Progress Report

3/30/2009

Project Overview
The collaborative ISRRT/Philips International Access to Learning Pilot Program was officially launched in January, 2008. At that time, Philips distributed a press release regarding the project and the ISRRT posted an announcement and information on the ISRRT website. The first phase of the project involved discussion with and agreement to participate from three ISRRT member societies - the Estonian Society for Radiographers, the Fiji Society of Radiographers and ISRRT Indian Association of Radiological Technologists.  The next steps included promotion of the program and information sharing regarding the process for accessing the on-line learning for members. In September 2008, The Society of Radiographers of South Africa agreed to participate in the project. However a number of barriers emerged as the discussion proceeded ultimately preventing their joining the project. These are discussed in more detail in the Issues section of this report.

 Enrolment Data
Enrolment began in March 2008 and was tracked on a regular basis. As of one year of running the International Access to Learning Pilot Program we are able to report the following statistics:

 March 3, 2009

·         Estonia – 98 online  courses accessed

·         India – 255 online courses accessed

·         Fiji – 18 online courses accessed

·         South Africa – 7 online courses accessed (as a test by society representative)

In reviewing the data we have noted the following trends:
Often one individual will access multiple courses – far more than any one individual would reasonably complete. For example in India one individual enrolled in approximately 70 courses. This likely reflects that either groups are working together or more likely, many individuals are using one logon and password to access the individual courses.

Access Issues
It is noted that access to reliable internet service with adequate bandwidth has been found to be an issue in some countries that are less technologically advances such as South Africa and Fiji. The way the online learning platform works is that the on-line courses are streamed from the Philips Learning Centre servers and many require broadband internet service.  If learners are using speeds that are close to dialup then they will have long wait times for many of the interactive, multimedia-rich courses, sometimes taking access may take many hours. 

 Dissemination and promotion of the program has also been identified as an issue in Fiji. Furthermore, it has been suggested that there is no perceived value or recognition of the courses by members of Fiji Society of Radiographers resulting in poor participation rates.

 Accreditation of the courses has also been identified as a barrier. South Africa requires courses to be assessed for credit by their society and their accreditation body does recognize the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) credits. It also does not recognize half credits. This means that the Society of Radiographers of South Africa would be required to complete an individual assessment of each course which presents as a costly and labour intensive activity. As a result of this and the technological limitations of their users, South Africa decided not to participate in the Pilot Program.

Support Issues
There were surprisingly few support issues identified with the International Access to Learning Pilot Program after it was up and running other than the higher level problems Fiji and South Africa experienced with regard to internet speed and access issues. All support issues were addressed in a timely manner with technical advice provided from Philips where needed.

Recommendations

1.      Continue to run the International Access to Learning Pilot Program for another year, then re-evaluate as there are still almost 4000 Continuing Education units available for use.

2.      Consider additional member societies for participation in the project

3.      Evaluate the benefit of this project and courses for the learners and societies and identify issues and areas for improvement.

Cynthia Cowling and Lori Boyd