MOBILE LEARNING FOR MARITIME WORKERS MITIGATING MARITIME CHEMICAL INCIDENTS

Steele Auditorium

Objective. The majority of workers in the maritime industry include dock workers, stevedores, laborers, longshoremen, dock and ship supervisors, and law enforcement personnel. They receive a wide range of health and safety training, primarily to reduce injuries related to falls, falling objects, crushing incidents, lifting techniques, and hoisting and rigging. However, training specific to hazardous chemical materials is severely lacking. Background. The Institute for Disaster and Emergency Preparedness (IDEP) at Nova Southeastern University's College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSUCOM), in partnership with MetaMedia Training International, has developed interactive scenario-based exercises to help prevent, mitigate, and respond to tragic and avoidable incidents related to hazardous materials in the maritime industry (e.g., docks, ports, oil rig platforms, vessels). Methods. Qualitative and Quantitative surveys and pre-tests to post-test score comparisions from those participants from courses that had use of the mLearning compared to those who did not receive the mLearning component of courses. Results. This presentation will highlight the development of mLearning real-life simulations; technologies employed, and initial evaluations of the SBIR Phase 1 effort. Furthermore, qualitative survey comments, which were collected and recorded, have provided more feedback from participants and also included potential recommendations for future use of the mLearning platform. Conclusion. Although final analyses is still being processed through 6-9 month post follow up surveys; results show a positive impact to learning impacts from a participant perspective. The first round of surveys produced (surveys given during day of course) concluded that participants who received the mLearning platform seemed to feel that it enhanced their learning. Grants. Funded through a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences