TATCOT: Spinal Orthotics by Blended Learning
Vienna (AU), May 2009 - (by Arndt Bubenzer) Since 2008, TATCOT, the Tanzania Training Centre for Orthopedic Technologists in Moshi, has been offering a substantial continuing- education eLearning course program on "Spinal Orthotics" for orthopedic technicians across Africa. The development of the program has been supported by the Health Division of InWEnt, Capacity Building International in Bonn, Germany.
The "Spinal Orthotics Program" is providing six modules within ten month and covers almost 600 learning hours (270 hours online learning, 270 hour practical work, and 50 hours for exams). The course program has been designed as a blended-learning program, combining face-to-face training with media-based activities, using up-to-date instructional approaches.
Why eLearning at TATCOT? Because of:
- Greater reach, offering services for participants from throughout East Africa
- On-the-job training for orthopedic technologists becomes possible
- Enhancing quality of training material
- Producing regionalized training material
- Less face-to-face training, enhancing cost efficiency
The Process
Supported by Vienna-based common sense - eLearning & training consultants, the TATCOT eLearning team initially developed a prototype for proof of concept. This pilot module was tested with a group of 24 participants from across East Africa. After this initial test, the five remaining modules and one video training module were developed.
Production of eLearning Material
The TATCOT eLearning team, supported by consultants from common sense, produced its own instructional media after having been introduced to an authoring tool, a graphics editor, and an animation tool. All tools were Open Source and license free, allowing TATCOT to equip as many staff members as required with them, greatly adding to sustainability of the project.
The team generated the content of six modules based on existing training materials and their extensive training experience, utilizing African knowledge and local ownership.
Instructional Design
The instructional design of the "Spinal Orthotics" training program includes self-study of the module content (presented as text, case studies, graphics, animations, and video), tutor support, collaborative elements, regular online chats, as well as hands-on training at the TATCOT training facilities. The initial online training is provided on InWEnt's Global Campus 21. Future courses will be offered on a local Moodle installation at TATCOT. A CD-ROM version is offered to those with slow Internet connections.
