Online Student Experience
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has a rich history in online learning. In 1997, the School established and developed a proprietary online course management system, which is known today as CoursePlus. The original initiative was in support of an online certificate program; its success led to the online part-time MPH degree in 1999. Today, there are more than 130 online courses offered across the School and several fully online degrees.
Offering online degree programs is consistent with the School’s mission to provide education to a diverse global community of research scientists and public health professionals.
| 20+ years of experience in online learning | Based on decades of experience, our online courses are designed to effectively meet the needs of both faculty and students, in an engaging learning environment. |
| High production value | Courses are developed by a highly-trained professional production team with an extensive quality assurance process. |
| Public health focused | Public health is a very collaborative discipline, so the courses are intentionally designed for students to work together through a variety of group work and tools. |
| Engaging activities | Course activities are assigned on a schedule that helps students feel supported and engaged throughout the program and facilitates collaboration. |
| World renowned faculty | The learning objectives and content are developed by renowned experts in the field who are shaping the industry through research and application. |
What to Expect
Faculty record course lectures in the School’s state-of-the-art recording suite. Each lecture goes through a comprehensive production process involving audio editing, technical writing, medical illustration and quality assurance. Students are able to download videos, along with audio-only (MP3) and slide-only (PDF) versions, and text transcripts for offline review. This gives a lot of flexibility for students to choose the format that works best for their learning style.
Students, faculty and teaching assistants interact with one another using a variety of asynchronous tools, including discussion forums, collaborative peer assessments, online document editing and email. Real-time communication can occur during online office hours and/or LiveTalk sessions via Adobe Connect web conferencing.
Preparing Students for Online Learning
Introduction to Online Learning is a free, mandatory prerequisite for all online courses offered. It’s open to prospective students and designed to give a thorough view into what the online experience on CoursePlus will be like. It also prepares students and faculty for success on the first day of class since everyone is already acclimated to the technology. Introduction to Online Learning will allow students to:
- Ensure all tools and applications are properly installed
- Troubleshoot any component that may not work properly
- Experience the online tools for peer-to-peer and instructor communication
- Become familiar with the coursework structure and learning management system
The course takes between 1-4 hours to complete, depending on your skills working online. With the notable exception of one LiveTalk, you can do the class work on your own schedule. For details on the course, including assignments and requirements for completion, please see the Syllabus page.
Ready to test-drive online courses at the Bloomberg School? Register for this class. You can take this free course at any point before or during the application process!
Support
The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) offers support for online students through CTL Help. There are many tutorials, tools and FAQs readily available for the learning management system.