Kent State University in collaboration with Michigan Virtual is offering a free MOOC (massive open online course) on Mobile Technologies for Health for students in grades 9-12. The course, which runs from July 9 – July 27, provides an opportunity for high school students to learn about public health.
Students who participate in the course will also learn about mobile technologies and their use in health and health education. Participants in the MOOC will have the opportunity to design an idea for a health game/app. Cash awards will be given to the top three teams (as judged by a panel of experts).
Please see the details below, visit the Mobile Technologies for Public Health site, or contact Diana Kingsbury ([email protected]) or Rick Ferdig ([email protected]) for details. National and international participation is welcomed, but students must be attending a secondary school to participate in the competition within the MOOC. Please share this with students considering health as a college career choice!
About the Course
Now, more than ever, we rely on mobile technology to connect with others, to find information and to help us navigate the world around us. With this increase in technology in our daily lives, there is an opportunity to maximize its use in addressing some of our leading social challenges. This summer, the Kent State University (KSU) College of Public Health, in collaboration with the KSU College of Education, Health, and Human Services and Michigan Virtual, is sponsoring an online learning experience that will introduce high school students (grades 9-12) to the use of mobile technologies to solve public health problems and challenges.
Students will have the opportunity to learn the basics of game and app development as they engage with the five core areas of public health (Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Health Policy, Environmental Health and Social & Behavioral Health). Students will compete in teams of three to five to develop a public health game or app that relates to a public health problem of their choice. Cash prizes will be awarded to the team with the best concept public health game or app (one $500 and two $250 awards).
The course will run from July 9 – July 27. All content will be available online and participants will be asked to submit their work through the course’s online platform. Orientation materials to the course, accessing the site, and program guidelines will also be made available virtually.
Find some friends, form a team and sign up today!
Intended Audience
High school students in grades 9-12 are encouraged to form a team and enroll.
Course Requirements
To participate, students will complete weekly online modules that will provide them with information about the field of public health, the basics of mobile app and game development, and some of the leading public health problems nationwide and globally. Students will be asked to select a public health issue of their choice and design their mobile technology to address the problem. In order to participate, students must have computer and Internet access. To be eligible to compete for the cash awards, students must complete each module and must be a member of a 3-5 person team.
Learning Objectives
By participating in this program, you will:
- Understand the five core areas within the field of public health:
- Get the basics of how mobile apps and games are designed
- Learn how mobile technologies can address public health issues
- Compete against other teams nationwide for cash awards
- Have fun!
To enroll, please visit Mobile Technologies for Public Health.
About Michigan Virtual
Michigan Virtual® is a private, nonprofit Michigan corporation established by the State of Michigan in 1998 to serve as a champion for online learning. It is the parent organization of the Michigan Virtual®, Michigan LearnPort®, and Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute™.
About Kent State University
Kent State University is Northeast Ohio’s leading public research university. Kent State has become an engine for economic, cultural and workforce development — locally and internationally — as one of the premier Ohio universities. The university is ranked among the nation’s 77 public research universities demonstrating high-research activity by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information about Kent State, visit www.kent.edu.
