Developing Online Education and Resources



Overview

Developing skills for online teaching and digital resources in evidence-based health care education.

This fully online course is designed for educators interested in providing flexible learning opportunities for health care professionals in a virtual environment. Participants will learn essential skills for the effective teaching and development of online and digital resources in evidence-based health care (EBHC) education. Participants will also apply evidence-informed course design, project management, licensing, and future-proofing to their digitised course material.

The last date for receipt of complete applications is 5pm Thursday, 18th September 2025. Regrettably, late applications cannot be accepted.

 

By the end of this course participants will be able to:

  • critically consider educational qualities for online teaching and education
  • identify, appraise, and implement research evidence for online course design
  • conduct a situational analysis for delivering online material in a context specific to evidence-based healthcare
  • plan for the design (or re-design) and production of an online course including effective digital learning resources
  • improve their skills in delivering effective online tutoring
  • issue an implementation and evaluation plan for assessing the quality of an online course and its digital resources
  • support the development of other digital educators through observation, feedback, coaching and peer-peer interactions

Programme details

This course is divided into 8 units:

  • Introduction to online education in healthcare
  • Evidence to inform online teaching practice
  • Planning for online content delivery (Part I and Part 2)
  • Developing skills for online teaching
  • Producing online education (Part 1 and Part 2)
  • Preparing for the future of online education

 

Each unit covers a different aspect of online education and digital resource design and development.

This programme is delivered entirely online over 8 weeks, followed by 4 weeks of self-directed study before you submit your assignment (usually on a Tuesday at 14:00 UK Local Time).

Fees

Description Costs
New students enrolled on MSc EBHC £2740.00
New students enrolled on MSc EBHC Teaching and Education £2740.00
Short Courses in Health Sciences £3390.00

Funding

Details of funding opportunities, including grants, bursaries, loans, scholarships and benefit information are available on our financial assistance page.

Discounts

If you are an employee of the University of Oxford and have a valid University staff card you may be eligible to receive a 10% discount on the full stand-alone fee. To take advantage of this offer please submit a scan/photocopy of your staff card along with your application. Your card should be valid for a further six months after attending the course.

 

If you are a current employee of the NHS, you may be eligible for our new NHS Short Course Bursary (or “NHS Bursary”), which offers a limited number of places at a 20% fee reduction. Please click on the link here to find out more.

Tutors

Jonathan Livingstone-Banks

Module Coordinator

Jonathan Livingstone-Banks is a Senior Researcher at the Nuffield Department of Primary Health Care Sciences

Dr Louise Rickard

Module Coordinator

Louise Rickard is a Teaching Fellow in Medical Education at the Nuffield Department of Primary Health Care Sciences.

Teaching methods

The module will be run over an eight-week cycle fully online and delivered via a Virtual Learning Environment (Canvas VLE). 

Individual units are built around practical exercises and realistic case studies that will enable students to apply learning in an evidence-based health care educational context.

Weekly study of each unit includes a mix of live “synchronous” seminars and discussion forums and self-paced “asynchronous” learning activities. Movement through the units is structured per week to enable students to work at the same pace as their peers.

Individual activities involve reading chapters of text and research articles, as well as working through set problems or assigned material. Group activities will usually involve online synchronous and asynchronous discussions with an opportunity for peer-to-peer feedback to encourage application of learning into contexts relevant to you and others.

 

Material and Preparation

Participants will be provided background readings and sample material throughout the course. You will benefit most from the course if you have considered the development or modification of an online course in a health-related sector.

Assessment methods

Assessment will be based on submission of a written assignment detailing plans (e.g. business case, evidence-informed course design and content, outline template), including critical reflection on processes and practice, of the design and development of online EBHC courses.

Academic Credit

Applicants may take this course for academic credit. The University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education offers Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) points for this course. Participants attending at least 80% of the taught course and successfully completing assessed assignments are eligible to earn credit equivalent to 20 CATS points which may be counted towards a postgraduate qualification.

Applicants can choose not to take the course for academic credit and will therefore not be eligible to undertake the academic assignment offered to students taking the course for credit. Applicants cannot receive CATS (Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme) points or equivalence. Credit cannot be attributed retrospectively. CATS accreditation is required if you wish for the course to count towards a further qualification in the future.

A Certificate of Completion is issued at the end of the course.

Applicants registered to attend ‘not for credit’ who subsequently wish to register for academic credit and complete the assignment are required to submit additional information, which must be received one calendar month in advance of the course start date. Please contact us for more details.

Please contact cpdhealth@conted.ox.ac.uk if you have any questions.

Application

This course requires you to complete the application form and to attach a copy of your CV. If you are applying to take this course for academic credit you will also be required to provide a reference. Please note that if you are not applying to take the course for academic credit then you do not need to submit a reference.

Please ensure you read the guidance notes which appear when you click on the symbols as you progress through the application form, as any errors resulting from failure to do so may delay your application.

Selection criteria

To apply for the course, you should:

  • Be a graduate or have successfully completed a professional training course in health or education
  • Have some work experience in the healthcare or education sector
  • Be able to demonstrate understanding of the principles of evidence-based health care
  • Be able to participate in a virtual learning environment
  • Have a good working knowledge of email, internet, and other applications for communication with colleagues
  • Be able to download free software to practice teaching and resource development
  • Show evidence of the ability to commit time to study and satisfy the requirements of participation and assignments associated with the module
  • Be able to demonstrate English Language proficiency at the University’s higher level. 

IT requirements

Please ensure that you have access to a computer that meets the specifications detailed on our technical support page.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support