In this online course, students examine problems confronting developing countries and integrate the role of the nurse through research, collaboration, and advocacy in the creation of a health promotion educational plan for a vulnerable population. The goal of this course is to introduce nursing students to the field of global health.

Students start by selecting a country from a list that their instructor provides to them. This then allows them to obtain a badge which contains their chosen country’s flag. During the first week of the course they are to read the directions for their final project. Students research and submit information about their country within individual summary posts which include the topics of historical, cultural, health care systems, and health indicators specific to their selected country. Using the summary posts, students share new information with their classmates and instructor. Students have six weeks to finish the readings and videos, and to complete summary posts for their specific country. During the next eight weeks, the learning design is focused  on round-table discussions. The round-table assignment facilitates  and enhances student interaction and student collaboration with each other about specific areas in global health. Areas include nutrition and environmental health, women and children's health, mental health, communicable and non-communicable diseases, natural disasters, and humanitarian emergencies. Students are directed to discuss specific health issues that their country faces, propose solutions that may be viable, respond to at least two classmates, and then as a group they come together as a community of learners to discuss possible solutions that could benefit all countries involved. The course builds on what all the students are learning about their countries to help them decide and produce a viable final project for a vulnerable population. This final assignment is submitted in the last week of the course.

The instructor is actively involved throughout the course. The selected countries are carefully chosen and consist of developing countries that have relatively low per capita incomes and are not heavily industrialized. The interface is colorful and appealing to the eye and video clips of global health around the world give the visual sense that cannot be put into words. Within the learning management system, there are several communication areas such as “talk with the professor” and “ask a question” section and course e-mail. This allows for open communication, community building and trust between instructor and student as well as student to student. In addition, the instructor uses the announcement tool contained in the course to communicate with students and provide them with important information.Video tutorials are also embedded to support learning in applying skills using the social bookmarking tool Diigo. A grading rubric is used to assess learning effectiveness in the following areas: discussions, short essay questions, and final projects. Grading rubrics are readily available to students throughout the course clarifying expectations and grading policies. In addition, written developmental feedback is provided on all graded assignments.

Each semester, the instructor asks students to provide feedback on the course. Students have recommended working together in groups on a selected country and adding more countries to the selected list. Students have commented they have found the course easy to navigate, are more culturally aware and sensitive to the needs of others, and cognizant of the world health perspective.

For future improvements, the following may be added to future sections of the course: blogging, guest lectures, stronger connection of the assignment to real world application, interactive maps, group assignment option, and more European countries.