Course Overview

This is a foundation course in the series of Children’s Healthy Living (CHL) Summer Institute courses providing education and training on childhood obesity in the Pacific region. The primary focus of this course is to provide students with a basic overview of the causes and effects of childhood obesity, evidence-based approaches, community-based research, and policies to prevent childhood obesity as it relates to the Pacific region. Students will be instructed on the various causes of childhood obesity with emphasis on the social-ecological model. Students will be provided with resources and skills in the areas of advocacy and policy development that may prove helpful in addressing childhood obesity. Course materials will be derived from published national (U.S.) and international (WHO and other) resources.

Students will develop and present a policy brief relating to the Pacific region, with different sections due throughout the course. During the course, they will explore how policy interacts with community  and the social ecological model.

Course Introduction Video

Instructor Introduction Video

Syllabus

Use this link to access the Syllabus.

Course Structure

This course is made up of 6 modules. Each module is made up of a number of lessons.  Go through each of the modules and lessons in order. Each lesson has required resources, readings and media. It is expected that you’ll study each of these prior to completing the graded activities. Some modules will also have optional resources. These readings and media are for your reference, you will not be responsible for these in completing the graded activities.

Symbols & Icons

Important Dates

The important dates section on every module page lists due dates for the lesson’s graded activities. Each type of the graded activities has a symbol associated with it. Use the legend above to identify each graded activity symbol.

Technology Requirements

This course is completely online and will require an internet connection for active participation. Contact your instructor if you do not have or have access to a PC computer.

ePortfolio

In this course you will be posting assignments to your CHL ePortfolio. Step-by-step instructions (this will link to the instructions) are available to assist with building and organizing your ePortfolio. Please keep in mind that your portfolio posts are public.  If you have security concerns about posting to your ePortfolio please contact your instructor. It is also a best practice to only post photographs of others if you have their permission to do so.

Creating YouTube Videos

• Creating
  Many of your assignments in this course will require you to create YouTube videos and embed them in your ePortfolio. Instructions for uploading a video to YouTube.
  
• Sharing
  We suggest that you use either the “Unlisted” or “Public” share setting on your videos so that they can be viewed by others. Public is the default setting and means anybody can see your video. Making a video unlisted means that only people who have the link to the video can view it. Unlisted videos do not appear in YouTube search results, or on the Browse page. Changing privacy settings on YouTube videos.
• Additional Media
  YouTube reserves the right to remove your videos if they violate copyright laws. The easiest way to avoid copyright issues is to avoid using media (photos, video, music etc.) in your videos that you do not have explicit permission to use. You may want to explore copyright free music, or copyright free image options. These two are only suggestions, a Google search will provide you with many additional copyright free media sites.

How to View a Video in a YouTube Playlist

A YouTube playlist contains more than one video. The total number of the videos in a playlist is shown right next to this playlist icon () appearing on the top left corner of the video screen (see the demonstration below).

The autoplay function is turned on so one video will play after the other. However, if you want to watch a specific one, click on the playlist icon and choose the one you want to watch again, click the (x) on the top right, and start viewing the video. Note that you are required to watch all the videos in the playlist.

Saving Files

Many of the resources in the course are presented using Google Docs. You can download a Google doc in a number of formats to refer to offline.  When viewing the document online go to File > Download as then choose your preferred format.

Laulima

Laulima is the University of Hawai‘i’s course management system. Use your UH username and password to log in to Laulima.  

Tips for Success in this Course

What do I do if I feel like I need help?

• Schedule an appointment with the instructor via email (We can chat over the phone or via Skype)
  • Send a private email to the instructor 
• Write in discussion forum on Laulima opening up or responding to discussions 
  • Send a classmate a private message 
• Being an online student can be a very different experience from being a face-to-face student. Do the following to be successful in this course: 
  • Check the course website and Laulima site daily 
  • View all of the module materials and read the assigned readings 
  • Complete all of the graded activities on time 
  • Pay attention to the course Announcements from Laulima and your hawaii.edu mail 
  • Ask when you have questions, don’t wait if you have a problem 
  • Take this online readiness survey and consider what skills you might need to work on 
  • Review this description of successful online students