Introduction to the Course

1. Introduction

This course will provide you with information and guidance to help you better care for the person you love who has dementia.

Home Based Care - Home Based Education is a six week long course (not including this Induction and Orientation Week) with a range of materials that you will see, read and hear. There will be around 15 people in your class group, and you will be interacting with them and your course tutor in a variety of ways. You will get plenty of opportunities to share your experience with your fellow family carers. 

We will cover a number of topics during the course, as follows:

Next week during Week 1 we will examine Dementia and the fact that it leads to changes in relationships within and between family members - we will acknowledge this and look at what dementia is and why it has such an impact.

In Week 2 we will look at communication and behavioural changes in your loved one.  We will examine how dementia can alter patterns of behaviour and we will show why and how communication is at the heart of good dementia care. 

Week 3 promtes aspects of leading a healthy lifestyle. We will outline the importance of ensuring your loved one eats well and stays physically and mentally active for as long as possible especially as their dementia develops.

During Week 4 we will focus on putting the cared-for person at the centre of the caring relationship. We will look at tips and resources around providing one-to-one care in a safe, hazard-free environment.

Week 5 concentrates on you the carer. We want you to look after yourself and during this week we will outline the importance of the carer staying healthy too. We will explain some strategies so that you can better look after yourself. In addition, we will point out a range of resources and supports available to family carers. 

Week 6 finishes with the Course Review and Next Steps. We will be summarising the course, and you will get a chance to plan any next steps you feel you need to take as you continue your caring journey.

2. What is Moodle?

This may be the first time you have done an online course. We are using a Learning Management System called Moodle. Moodle has many advantages for providers like The Alzheimer Society of Ireland. It allows us to:

• build flexible education and training courses that can be utilised by students at a time that best suits them
• place video and text on a website to share with our students
• communicate in various ways through Forums, Live Chat and through the use of interactive activities like polls and surveys
• set short Quiz assignments for our students

Moodle has the great advantage in that you the student can access the course at a time that suits you best.

It is confidential and private - only people that we have enrolled can see the Moodle pages.

Video available at:

3. Meet the team!

Hello from your teaching team!

Why not take the time to introduce yourself in the Let's get to know each other activity.

4. Finding Your Way Around Moodle

Take a look at this short video. It will help you get to know your Moodle environment.

Video available at:

So, now let's explore the rationale and the teaching and learning approach we will use on this course.

5. How this course works

This is a participatory course. By sharing your experiences confidentially with other members of your online class, we are hopeful that this course  can be rewarding and beneficial for all of you.

We feel that Teaching and Learning is a two-way street.

Our commitment to you:

• Provide a format and structure to the various topics on the course
• Encourage and facilitate discussion through various activities
• Answer your queries and posts in good time, usually within 24 hours
• Make sure you are comfortable participating on the course

What we ask in return

• Participate in the activities and ask questions if you are stuck
• Try to connect ideas and concepts we will tell you about to your experience in the real world of family caring
• Share your experiences on the forums so that others can learn from them
• Respect other participants privacy by not sharing any of the disclosed information on any external sites or social media
  

6. Pause and Reflect

How is it going so far? Take a little time to think about what you have achieved this week as you prepare for the course ahead. 

Have you any problems logging onto Moodle? Raise any queries you may have in Any technical issues? activity.

Have you uploaded a photo of yourself?

Have you posted an introduction about who you are in the Let's get to know each other activity?

Can you navigate your way around the site? Get in touch if you need to. We are happy to support you and help you settle onto the course.

7. Start Moodling!

Exercise 1 – Edit Your Profile

Your Profile settings allow you to customise how you view elements of the course.

They also allow you to post up a picture of yourself, which the class will see when they communicate online with you. We think it is good practice in an online course for you to post up a picture of yourself.

To do so, you need to Edit Your Profile.

Click on Your Name on the top right hand side of the screen, scroll down to Edit Profile and upload a photograph of yourself. Or check out the short video below.

Video available at:

Exercise 2 – Introduce Yourself

8. Pre-Course Questionnaire

Before you start on the course materials, we would be very grateful if you took five minutes to complete our Pre-Course Questionnaire.

We want you to try to gauge your own care skills, knowledge and confidence levels as you start this course.

At the end of the course we will send you the same short questionnaire to measure your skills, knowledge and confidence. In that way, we are trying to understand if you feel the course has made a positive contribution to your care situation.

The responses are confidential.

Many thanks in advance.