Best Practices in Online Education: A Guide for Health Professional Educators

The demand for online health professional educational programs has grown rapidly in recent years, driven by technological advances and an increasing learner appetite for flexible, accessible educational experiences. As the uptake of online techniques has increased, so has the research into their pedagogical underpinnings. However, the speed of these developments means many health professional educators remain unfamiliar with the evidence base and practicalities of actually designing and delivering these learning experiences.
This book summarizes best practices in online education in a succinct, curated, and practical manner. It is designed with the busy health professional educator in mind and is written by fellow health professional educators who understand the everyday challenges of the role. It highlights core principles, gives step-by-step guidance on how to implement these for clinical learners and includes copious ‘tips and tricks’ to facilitate success.
Covering everything from basic online implementations through to the advanced integration of Artificial Intelligence into learning programs, this book will serve as a valuable resource for any educator wanting to familiarise themselves with this important new discipline.

Dr David Kok, MBBS, MEd, is an oncologist and award-winning educator. He is the Clinical Director of Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre’s Moorabbin Campus and Head of the Cancer Education Unit at the University of Melbourne. His academic expertise is in the design and delivery of innovative, tailored educational curricula. He has led the development and renewal of numerous postgraduate and specialist programs and received multiple international awards for this work. David also maintains an active research portfolio and has published and lectured widely relating to best practice in oncological care and health professional education. Currently, he sits on a range of national and international committees, including as the Chief of Training and Assessment at the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists and Chair of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre’s Education and Training Committee. 

Dr David Seignior, EdD, is a multidisciplinary teacher and researcher in the Faculty of Education, at the University of Melbourne. Prior to this, he was a senior learning designer with the Melbourne School of Professional and Continuing Education (MSPACE) where his main focus was on health professional education. He played a key role in the learning design of the University of Melbourne and Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) Alliance’s wholly online Master of Cancer Sciences course. David now teaches and researches in philosophy of education, environmental education and climate change, and diversity and inclusion in teacher training and practice. His doctorate was a phenomenological inquiry into the experiences of students undertaking wholly online interprofessional education in cancer sciences.

Michelle Barrett, MEd(ProfPrac), has worked in health professional education since 2001, predominantly in curriculum writing and educational development and delivery in the medical undergraduate, postgraduate, specialist and professional education and training arena. Her special interests focus on transformative learning practice, program evaluation, consumers as educators and innovative educational technology. Since 2018 she has been the Head of Education and Training at the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre Alliance where she develops, curates, and manages educational programming that supports knowledge and skill development for the clinical and research cancer workforce. Prior to that she was the Manager of Professional Development at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Manager of Curriculum and Training Development at the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators and Lecturer, Centre for Medical and Health Sciences Education at Monash University. Michelle has an honours qualification in science, post graduate qualification in scientific communications and Master of Professional Education and Training.