The MSc Cancer Biology and MSc Advanced Neonatal Practitioner (ANP) are undergoing a transformative design in collaboration with the Digital Education Studio (DES) as part of the CARE Agenda. This co-design process is a multidisciplinary approach that brings together academics, learning design experts and creative specialists to create high-quality online courses in which students engage in self-paced learning through a structured combination of text, images, short lecture videos, and interactive elements.
In January, MSc Cancer Biology and MSc ANP are celebrating a key milestone as students have just completed their first semester. In this article, Professor Richard Grose and Professor Susana Godinho from the MSc Cancer Biology program, and Dr. Burak Salgin from the MSc ANP reflect on the journey, the challenges addressed through collaboration, and the rewarding aspects of co-creation.
The rewards of co-creation for students and academics
One of the most rewarding aspects for the teaching team was collaborating with the filming team to create weekly introductory videos to build a strong teacher presence. As Richard and Susana highlighted, “These short clips set the scene for each topic and inspired students to engage with the online content.” Another strength was the revamped QMplus build with different types of learning resources, which stood out for its engaging and accessible design. “It was so refreshing compared to the tired layout of our previous site,” they noted.
These improvements not only transformed the learning experience but also showcased how thoughtful design can positively impact student engagement. For example, the Postgraduate Student Voice Committee mentioned how much the MSc ANP impressed students with its focus on support and knowledge-sharing. In the Cancer Biology module, students valued the clear and well-organized content, with one student stating in the module evaluation survey that the materials were "very well-designed and straightforward to follow.".
The rewards extend beyond enhancing the student experience; co-creation also builds the capacity of academics to deliver high-quality distance learning experience. As Burak put it, “This collaboration opened my eyes to how digital education can create meaningful, impactful learning experiences, particularly in clinical and academic contexts.” Collaborating with the DES team has transformed academics’ understanding of digital education’s potential, equipping them to deliver content in a more evidence-informed and interactive way.
Overcoming challenges through collaboration
The main challenge in redeveloping their module was finding the time to thoughtfully design interactive online experiences. Richard and Susana explained, “This was somewhat out of our comfort zone, but the guidance from DES made all the difference. The learning design expert introduced us to innovative H5P tools like image sliders, hotspot figures, and timelines, which helped materialise the module vision. The result was a highly engaging module featuring quizzes, discussion forums, and Padlet activities that students fully embraced. The level of interaction was beyond what we had anticipated.”
Final thoughts
Here are Burak, Richard and Susana’s tips for designing online learning materials:
- Leverage DES expertise: Utilize the DES team’s extensive knowledge and embrace the opportunity for different perspectives. Support and encouragement from others makes it easier to develop content positively and efficiently, even when time is limited. Richard and Susana remarked, “We would advise people to really embrace the process and take advantage of the amazing knowledge that the DES folk bring – it is always hard to find time for projects like this, but they are amazingly supportive – and have a way of encouraging you to develop content in a positive way, really facilitating the process.”
- Plan interactive activities early: Before creating content, explore the interactive tools available, such as H5P and Padlet. This helps restructure lectures into engaging, bite-sized tasks. With our interactive web developer, DES co-creates bespoke interactives highly relevant to the subject matter with academics. As Burak observed, “What stands out is their personalised approach, even in sub-specialty areas like neonatal medicine, where solutions are tailored to our specific needs.”
- Consistency is key: Once an effective format is established, applying it across topics simplifies the process and ensures consistency throughout the module. Richard and Susana revealed the secret recipe, “It’s a heady mix of ambition, inspiration and pragmatism that really seems to work!”
- Engaging with students in tutorials: While live online tutorial sessions were rewarding, a challenge was the low attendance. Richard and Susana noted, “The students who did attend found them really useful,” emphasising the importance of exploring strategies to enhance engagement in future tutorial sessions.
The next CARE Agenda programmes, the online MSc Global Public Health with the Wolfson Institute of Population Health (WIPH) and Healthcare Leadership Foundations with the Institute of Dentistry (IoD), launch in 2025. Stay tuned to hear from these programme teams about their experiences of the co-design process.
Find out more
The CARE Digital Education module provides a comprehensive guide to understanding and applying good practice in digital education, with opportunities for reflection, discussion, and collaboration. Start exploring this module today to begin your learning design journey.