Creative classroom techniques incorporating technology promote a more productive and enriched learning environment. Preparing future health educators in today’s technology-driven society requires faculty to adopt new teaching strategies which motivate and engage the new tech-savvy Web 2.0 generation. YouTube® is a popular online video-sharing web site for both scholarly and non-scholarly communication. Currently, there are no published studies on the quantitative assessment of faculty utilization of YouTube in the health education classroom. The purpose of this pilot study was to 1) determine faculty’s current and potential utilization of YouTube in their classes; 2) identify faculty perceptions of the benefits of YouTube as a health education resource for in-class and online courses; and 3) identify potential limitations and challenges of this online resource. Using an online survey instrument developed by the researchers and provided via a secured website, data were collected from a non-randomized convenience sample of 24 faculty members, obtained from a population of 59 full-time tenure-track and fixed-term health and human performance faculty teaching at a mid-size university in the southeastern U.S. The results indicated that, overall, the faculty who use YouTube in their courses consider it to be an effective teaching resource for enhancing their health education course material. In addition, the non-user faculty expressed interest in learning more about the potential application of YouTube as an instructional tool for their classes. While further research is necessary, this pilot study suggests that YouTube may be a viable, innovative teaching resource for use by university faculty in health education and other disciplines.
Background: To improve global health, the workforce capacity of health promotion professionals must be strengthened through the provision of competencies necessary to deliver effective programs. Purpose: This study provides an updated analysis of the validity of the worksite health promotion (WHP) professional competencies developed in 2000 by the Association for Worksite Health Promotion (AWHP). Competencies and subcompetencies included were in the areas of business, program coordination, and human resources, as well as education and experience requirements. Methods: Study participants were recruited through 3 professional organizations that distributed recruitment letters electronically to their members. Letters requested that participants complete an online survey on the current importance of the AWHP competencies. Results: A substantial majority of the respondents rated the 3 competency areas, the subcompetencies included under those areas, and the education and experience requirements as either somewhat important or essential. Discussion: The study findings reestablish the importance of the core professional competencies developed in the 2000 by the AWHP and revalidated in a 2004 follow-up study and suggest that these competencies are still highly relevant for today's WHP professionals. Translation to Health Education Practice: The validated WHP professional competencies serve as a foundation for designing appropriate curricula for the training of current and future health professionals.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.