The opportunity to appraise and monitor the educational strategies and materials employed by educators throughout the region has never been more accessible. Appraisal and monitoring of educational programs are critical to ensure an iterative, dynamic environment for educators to deliver supportive and progressive educational content to Doctors in training. It forms one of the main NHSE Quality Standards outlined in the Quality Framework: "The learning environment provides suitable educational facilities for both learners and educators, including space, IT facilities and access to a quality assured library and knowledge base".

The East of England has the ability to create eLearning Modules and Blended Learning programs that can be coordinated and delivered to Trainees using our Learning Management System, Bridge. The content creation process is outlined below.

The Content Production Workflow - Overview

The Stages of Content creation are as follows:

1. Needs Assessment
2. GAP analysis
3. Curriculum Alignment
4. Storyboarding
5. The Production Process

Before the production process can begin, The Blended Learning Lead for each specialty works with the Training Program Directors (TPDs) and The Teaching and Learning Fellows to create a Curriculum Mapped Matrix for a specialty topic. The Needs Assessment Process helps to identify Learning which topics should be covered. The Curriculum Mapped Matrix is usually formed of eLearning modules and live training events that are blended into Learning Packages. The matrix maps the following:

• Audience/Learner Groups
• Needs Assessment Outcome - why are we creating this?
• Overall Learning Outcomes of the Program
• The Build Software and Hosting Platform
• Authors/Content owners and Subject Matter Experts
• Prelimary Course Launch Date
• Module Breakdown Matrix with learning objectives for each module and curriculum codes.

This is an example a simple matrix for a Neurocritical Care program Matrix. Once the Matrix is built The Teaching and Learning Fellows can start to storyboard each module to create eLearning modules using the ADDIE Model:

Credit: Obsidian Learning: https://www.obsidianlearning.com/projects/addie-model/

The eLearning modules are built with content supplied by subject matter experts. The Teaching and Learning Fellows "digitalise" this content into eLearning Modules using a wide variety of eLearning tools at their disposal. Live training events/webinars can be weaved into the program to enable subject matter expert guidance on personal level at various stages of the learning pathway, creating a holistic online learning package; see the Total Intravenous Anaesthesia Learning Package example below:

The diagram below summarises the workforce behind content creation. The online course designer is usually the The Teaching and Learning Fellow but can be any individual trained to create eLearning Modules using the software packages provided by HEE East of England. 

Here is an example of how a completed Learning Package can be delivered to a Trainee using Bridge. The Trainee can access eLearning Modules and Live Training events synchronously or asynchronously. Any Live Training Events they have missed can be revisited using our Panopto Video Library.

The Quality Process

Before any content is published, a quality assurance process must be undertaken (see below), particularly with regards to online courses. For Live Training Events, Subject Matter Experts should be approached to deliver relevant lectures or webinars at their convenience to ensure that the most accurate and up to date content is being delivered at all times.

Once the Learning Packages have been built into Online Courses/Webinars by The Working Group, it must undergo a Quality Review process before being published to Trainees on Bridge.

- Review process for Online Courses:

• Content Leads together with the TPDs and Specialty Leads are ultimately responsible in ensuring that online courses excel in the following domains using the Quality Checklist 
  • Accessibility
  • Accuracy
  • Aesthetic design
  • Instructional design
  • Pedagogy/Andragogy 
  • Feedback
  • Assessment
• Online courses must be reviewed with the Online Course Quality Checklist
• Every Online Course must be reviewed within 2 Years of publication; sooner if more up to date medical evidence becomes available.
• Subject Matter Experts must be consulted to ensure the course content is accurate and falls in line with the most current evidence-based available.
• Specialty Leads together with the Associate Dean and Regional Librarian should meet on a quarterly basis to ensure that material is not duplicated across specialties.  

- Review Process for Videos on Panopto

• Recorded Webinars or Pre-recorded Lectures that are stored on Panopto should be reviewed by the Content Lead/Specialty Leads in terms of accuracy and video quality, particularly if not delivered by a Consultant/Subject Matter Expert.
• Videos should be reviewed within one month of being uploaded to Panopto
• There should be a review of all video every 2 Years for each specialty. Any duplicated content should be reviewed, with the most up to date video being retained, and the other archived or sent back to its author.

- Review Process of Live Training Events (Lectures/Workshops)

• Where possible Consultants who are Subject Matter Experts in their field should be approached to deliver lectures either through webinars or Face-to-Face Lectures/Workshops that underpin the learning objectives of the Learning Package.
• Tech Support and Online Course Designers should support Subject Matter Experts with any technical issues that they may face when delivering their event, i.e training on the use of their preferred webinar platform or needing to produce pre/post lecture online content on Bridge. 
• Where subject matter experts have not delivered Lecture/Workshop material, it should reviewed by Content and Specialty Leads and consultant Subject Matter Experts if necessary.