Build an epidemiology learning ePortforlio

I have passed more than 100 courses’ exams for my medical degree, but I think I forget much of the details of them as I don’t apply these knowledge to practice, even in my major, Epidemiology. I can’t keep all the textbooks in my bag all the time. I also find the materials from the wikipedia or other relevant websites are fragmental. So I am building a learning ePortforlio of epidemiology, which I hope is more systemic and more comprehensive.

Here it is! Washbean- Let’s study epidemiology. Finally, I decide to build it on the wordpress, and open it to everyone, not only in Usask. Actually, the “Washbean” is almost empty by now.

My learning ePortforlio may help beginning student, intermediate student and higher level student. I use the Pages to construct the epidemiology learning system.

1. For beginners, the Page “Epidemiology 001″ displays the basic knowledge and studying methods of epidemiology.
2. For higher level students, the Page “Epidemiology 007″ introduces the sub-divisions and applied research of epidemiology. I am trying to extend the breadth of it as far as I can.
3. For graduates and staff in this field, I will set up the Page “Epidemiologists”, to introduce the career roles for epidemiologists and the competencies required of epidemiologists.
4. Epidemiology is a study based on population, so statistics is the core tool. But for epidemiology learners, biostatistics is usually hard. So I plan to draw a map of the statistic tool that epidemiologists may use. I will also suggest some software for applying the statistics. Some links may be provided for understanding it further.
5. I will also collect the resources that may benefit the learners, such as the associations, books and journals on epidemiology and public health.

I will post blog onto it to discuss the issues and the development of epidemiology. All the content in this e-Portfolio are drafted by myself. I will definitely respect copyright, and I also reserve the copyright of the content in this e-Portfolio. All the blogs and pages are open to comment. I welcome other learners and scholars to discuss and evaluate the portfolio, and I will keep optimizing the structure and the content of it.

This e-Portfolio is an experiment to explore the effectiveness of it for epidemiology learner. But at least, it will benefit myself on my studying. I’m clear it may be a huge project and it suit my lifelong learning. I hope the wordpress will stand for long enough, or I will choose other site.

Test of a Podcast-What is Epidemiology?

This is the first time for me to make a podcast.

There are 3 basic types of learning styles and understand your learning style will help you tailor your study habits to the way that you learn best. Visual learner, audio learner, kinesthetic learner, or mixed learner, do you know which type of you? A podcast allow information to be recalled with more effective and more vivid detail, particularly for audio learners.

I have a plan to build a blog/site attached with the podcasts to introduce Epidemiology to people and students who are interested in this discipline. For learning epidemiology, I have a experience that I had forgot some of the tips of epidemiology for several times after a period not touching it. A podcast is convenient to listen to enhance the memory of the knowledge. So I begin to build the blog from “Epidemiology 001″, the basic epidemiology, to “Epidemiology 007″ for higher level knowledge of epidemiology. I would like to control the podcasts within 4 to 7 minutes. So audiences could use fragmental time to learn and review the knowledge.

The icebreaker is the first podcast of this series. I introduced “What is epidemiology”. I found it is not easy to transcribe it, particularly for me with weak spoken English. I will practice more. In addition, I will also learn the issues on copyright, because I do refer to some references. I will provide original materials as much as I can.

Think of the higher education’s “OPEN”

I’m a medical student, so I’m really not familiar with the theory of higher education.“Introduction of Learning Technologies” leads me to think about the designation, and I realize it‘s the time for me to think about it after almost nine years immersed in it, no matter what I may do in the future. The topic of this week is OPEN.

Open the resource of common knowledge to everyone in the world. I did confuse in the contradiction about the open of knowledge, because copyright shows respect to the  inventor. “We also need to pay not a few money to get into a institution/college for higher education, and we need to earn those back and earn a quality life.” This was my opinion, but not only mine. I was wrong. Development of human society is leading everyone to a new open world where people share the common knowledge, just like the equality right of human, just like the air we breathe. In my opinion, in a developed society, the higher education should be open to anyone, anywhere, for free. I know the dream is realizing.

Professionalize what we like in the higher education. This is its difference from primary and secondary education. So here we can easily touch the modern highest technologies guided by instructors. Student needs to keep in mind the goal of higher education, to be professional and understand what is happening in his field. For student here, they should collect kinds of materials to learn, rethink and explore, by themselves usually. Teacher’s role is just to make the process of getting knowledge easier. To make it easier is not easy.

Enlighten everyone’s talent to explore. There is not short of inventions came from common people who do not belong to any research faculty. From this aspect, all the persons in the world build up a resource to contribute to human knowledge. Open higher education can also enlighten more individuals to participate in the exploration of knowledge. Here the cost of higher education may also get “pay back”.

Navigate in a free knowledge sea. Everyone has a boat and higher education is the shipbuilding factory which is in the bay.

Looking forward to the icebreaker and the spring.

Photo taken on the railway bridge, South Saskatchewan River.