EPELA Authentic e-Learning shortlisted for Best Online Distance Learning Programme for Learning Technologies Awards 2016

On 1 May 2015, This year's Learning Technologies Awards shortlist was announced on Twitter earlier on WED 7 SEP and I am delighted to learn that our entry entitled "EPELA Authentic e-Learning" has been shortlisted for "Best online distance learning programme". The presentation of the case to jury is scheduled for 4 OCT, with gala evening in London on 30 OCT to announce the winners.

http://www.learningtechnologies.co.uk/Content/Best-online-distance-learning-programme

I would like to thank all who participated in the creation of this authentic learning platform and two programmes (pharmaceutical cold chain management and VVM based vaccine management) we are currently running. Thomas Reeves (senior advisor and formative evaluation), Jim Vesper (Content development, voice over and formative evaluation), Nellie Kartoglu (content development and copy editing), Hanna Teräs (formative and summative evaluation), Andrew Garnett (Content editing), Ronald Gregory (Formative evaluation), Bill Aggen (Formative evaluation), Shelly Morse (Formative evaluation), Kemal Gökhan (illustrations, web page design), Gökhan Akaalp (software development and web page applications), Ümran Akaalp (software engineer), Umit Kivanc (camera, editing, music and graphics), Gençer Yurttaş (camera assistant), Bahar Gokten (camera assistant), Jean-Marc Glinz (camera), Mehmet Ibrahim Gokhan Acun (camera), Simona Zipursky (voiceover), Deniz Nala Kartoglu (voiceover),Kevin O'Donnell (voiceover), Sinead Jones (interface controls), Michael Garnett (equipment illustrations), Kshem Prasad (photographs), Tahir Ceylan (logistics and transport), Kamel Aboudi (logistics and dispatch), and Frank Chow Yuen (logistics and dispatch).

Special thanks go to mentors Kevin O'Donnell, Jim Vesper, late Andrew Garnett, Ticky Raubenheimer, Denis Maire and Julie Milstien.

EPELA authentic e-Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Management course receives 2015 Hermes Creative Award as Gold Winner in e-learning category

On 1 May 2015, Hermes Creative Awards announced winners for the 2015 international awards competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional and emerging media. Hermes Creative Awards recognizes outstanding work in the industry while promoting the philanthropic nature of marketing and communication professionals. EPELA authentic e-Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Management course was announced as the Gold Winner in e-Learning category.

There were over 6,000 entries from throughout the United States, Canada and several other countries in the Hermes Creative Awards 2015 competition. Entries came from corporate marketing and communication departments, advertising agencies, PR firms, design shops, production companies and freelancers.

Hermes Creative Awards is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). The international organization consists of several thousand marketing, communication, advertising, public relations, media production and free-lance professionals. AMCP oversees awards and recognition programs, provides judges and rewards outstanding achievement and service to the profession.

As part of its mission, AMCP fosters and supports the efforts of creative professionals who contribute their unique talents to public service and charitable organizations. Hermes entrants are not charged entry fees to enter work they produced pro bono. In addition, the efforts of generous marketing and communication professionals are acknowledged through grants and special recognition.

AMCP judges are industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talent exceeds a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry. Winners were selected from 195 categories grouped under advertising, publications, marketing/branding, integrated marketing, public relations/communications, and electronic media and pro bono.

A list of Platinum and Gold Winners can be found on the Hermes Creative Awards website (https://enter.hermesawards.com/winners/#/gold/2015)

On 22 February 2015, we lost Andrew Garnett...  A dear friend, mentor, and an irreplaceable brain… A huge loss to the world of immunization.

Andrew Garnett, during the EPELA e-Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Management expert video shooting, 15 March 2011, London (photo: U. Kartoglu)

I met Andrew in 2001 during the revision of international packaging and shipping guidelines. From that day on, we became close friends and have worked on numerous projects. It is with Andrew that we brought to life the Effective Vaccine Store Management (EVSM) initiative and Performance,  Quality and Safety (PQS) project.

Andrew was the number one choice as an author on cold chain management guidelines. He was an immaculate editor for many technical series we worked on together.

As an architect, Andrew was THE master of mind-maps. He fascinated me with his ability to bring about a clear mind-map structure to any complex concept.  

Andrew was one of the four mentors teaching in EPELA e-Pharmaceutical Cold Chain management course. His insightful reviews and feedback to participants were deeply appreciated and will always be remembered.

I deeply admired you, Andrew, for your elegance, your subtle artistic taste, your scientific rigor, your passion for life…

I shall miss you dearly, Andrew.

Umit Kartoglu 

New expert videos on VVM based vaccine management

EPELA releases the most recently produced expert videos on VVM based vaccine management. These videos are specifically produced for the new EPELA authentic e-learning course on vaccine vial monitor based vaccine management. The new course will be offered during 27 January - 28 March 2014.

Both WHO and EPELA encourage others to widely use, share the videos and embed them in other web sites. The following videos are now available publicly:

A year in the life of a vaccine by Kevin O'Donnell

Kevin O’Donnell reviews the role of VVM and how it can be the answer to increase access and ensure quality of vaccine was not compromised due to unacceptable heat exposure.

Cold chain challenges everywhere by Simona Zipursky

Simona Zipursky reviews the cold chain challenges to demonstrate that problems are both in developing and industrialized countries and questions whether VVM should also be the answer for both.

How does a VVM work by Denis Maire

Denis Maire summarizes the technical characteristics of VVMs and explains how they work.

Interpretation of VVM in relation to other temperature monitoring devices by Umit Kartoglu

Umit Kartoglu reviews temperature monitoring devices used in a typical vaccine cold chain and analyses how the readings relate to each other when there are more than one device at a particular point. This analysis is done from the VVM perspective.

Using VVM as a stock management tool by Umit Kartoglu

Umit Kartoglu reviews the requirements for product arrival, storage and dispatch and analyses the role of VVM in effective stock management for each step. Special emphasis is given to the relation of VVM and expiry date in illustrating how VVM over-rules earliest expiry first out principle.

Vaccines beyond the cold chain by Simona Zipursky

Simona Zipursky reviews the studies on taking vaccines beyond the cold chain all published in peer-review journals and comments on how VVMs could be instrumental in these operations.

VVMs getting smarter by Umit Kartoglu

Umit Kartoglu reviews the recent changes in integrity and location of VVMs and the new message VVM is giving whether a vial containing multi-dose vaccine following opening can be kept for a subsequent session or not.

VVM use at the most periphery by Serge Ganivet

Serge Ganivet reviews the VVM use at the most periphery through different examples and brings new perspectives on how to make best decisions based on the expiry and VVM readings.

EPELA launches the new authentic e-learning course on VVM based vaccine management

EPELA launches its new authentic e-learning course on VVM based vaccine management. 

The 9-week course takes participants through a sophisticated vaccine chain to make the best use of VVM through ensuring that the vaccines have not been damaged by heat, reducing vaccine wastage, pinpointing cold chain problems, managing stocks, facilitating immunization outreach and increasing access and improving vaccination coverage, preventing inadvertent freezing, and providing hints whether an opened multi-dose vaccine vial may be used in a subsequent immunization session. 

Tools are offered to work in groups, evaluation is done through self, peer and expert reviews. Nobody lectures any participants in this course, but we make expert videos and critical documents available to participants through video and document libraries. 

The course will be mentored by Umit Kartoglu, Julie Milstien, Ticky Raubenheimer and Denis Maire. 

The new course will run as beta-course for the first time between 27 January and 28 March 2014. Regular courses are scheduled to take place during the following periods:

21 April - 20 June 2014

6 October - 5 December 2014

For details of the course please check at http://epela.net/epela_web/evvm.html  

New graduates of the e-Pharmaceutical cold chain management, 30 September - 20 December 2013

Congratulations to our new graduates...

Thomas Reeves, our senior advisor, receives two distinguished awards at the 2013 AECT International Convention

Our dear friend, e-learning guru and mentor, and senior advisor to our e-learning courses Thomas Reeves has received two distinguished awards at the 2013 AECT International Convention (Association for Educational Communications and Technology) conference in Anaheim, CA last week. We are very proud with you Tom!

OUTSTANDING BOOK AWARD


Tom was awarded with OUTSTANDING BOOK AWARD together with Susan McKinney for their “Conducting educational design research” book published by Routledge (24 February 2012). Educational design research blends scientific investigation with systematic development and implementation of solutions to educational problems. Empirical investigation is conducted in real learning settings-not laboratories-to craft usable and effective solutions. At the same time, the research is carefully structured to produce theoretical understanding that can serve the work of others. To support graduate students as well as experienced researchers who are new to this approach, Conducting Educational Design Research integrates multiple perspectives of educational design research throughout this three-part book. Part one clarifies the educational design research origins, approach and outcomes. It also presents a generic model portraying the overall process. Part two discusses the constituent elements of the model in detail, these are: analysis and exploration; design and construction; evaluation and reflection; and implementation and spread. Part three offers recommendations for proposing, reporting and advancing educational design research. Through related readings and richly varied examples, Conducting Educational Design Research offers clear and well-documented guidance on how to conceptualize and conduct this stimulating form of inquiry. For decades, policies for educational research worldwide have swung back and forth between demanding rigor above all other concerns, and increasing emphasis on impact. These two qualities need not be mutually exclusive. The book supports readers in grasping and realizing the potential of educational design research. It demonstrates how rigorous and relevant investigation can yield both theoretical understanding and solutions to urgent educational problems.

We feel very privileged to have Tom on board with us in our learning journey and particularly in our e-learning initiative. It is also wonderful that Jim (Vesper) has applied this approach to our e-pharmaceutical cold chain management course.

David H. Jonassen Excellence in Research Award

Tom was also awarded with the “David H. Jonassen Excellence in Research Award”, given to individuals who have demonstrated a long-term record of excellence in research to the field of instructional design and technology. The award was established to remember the significant scholarly contributions made to the field of instructional design and technology by Dr. David H. Jonassen.

Tom also delivered a keynote speech at the conference titled “Educational Design Research: If Not Now, When?”.

I met Tom at the 2008 PDA Biennial training conference, 19-21 May 2008 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA (also met Jim there). Since then I work together with these two beautiful individuals. Together with Tom (and Jim) we facilitate Designing courses for learning and Facilitation skills courses for WHO.

I (Umit) and Tom at the November 2009 “Designing

courses for learning" course, Antalya, Turkey

Tom is a Professor Emeritus of Learning, Design, and Technology, Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology, College of Education, The University of Georgia. He earned hisPh.D. at Syracuse University. Tom was a Fulbright Lecturer in Peru and have been an invited speaker in the USA and 30 other countries.

From 1997-2000, Tom was the editor of the Journal of Interactive Learning Research. In 2003, he received the Fellowship Award from the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), and in 2010 he was made a Fellow of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE). 

Congratulations Tom!.. UMIT