Fox Learning Systems is an American

e-learning Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning and teaching. When referred to with its abbreviation, "EdTech" ...

and

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...

training company based in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Founding

Debra Fox Debra Fox is the founder and CEO of Fox Learning Systems. She was previously a television reporter and anchor with WTAE-TV Pittsburgh (1976–1986). WTAE television career Fox was named "Best Pittsburgh Newscaster" seven years in a row by th ...

is a former

news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

for

WTAE-TV WTAE-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with ABC. It has been owned by Hearst Television since the station's inception, making this one of two stations that have been built and signe ...

, the Pittsburgh

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platfo ...

. She founded Fox Learning Systems after witnessing the training problems plaguing the long term care industry. "If you do training well enough, people will learn," said Fox in an interview with

Seton Hill University Seton Hill University is a private Catholic university in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally a women's college, it became a coeducational university in 2002 and enrolls about 2,200 students. History The school was founded i ...

's ''E-Magnify'' journal. She has won numerous awards for her work with Fox Learning Systems. She also publishes a blog related to the elder care industry

Studies

Fox Learning Systems has conducted and participated in numerous studies related to psychiatric learning and elder care. The

National Institute of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Servic ...

as well as the

National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primar ...

has awarded grants to Fox Learning Systems to study a variety of aspects in the eldercare field. For example, in 2002 the

awarded $566,000 to Fox Learning Systems for two research grants. :* In 2002, Fox Learning Systems conducted a 6-month randomized experiment comparing computer-based and lecture-based learning for nursing-home staff education. This study was conducted to find if interactive multimedia training would be feasible for

compliance training Compliance training refers to the process of educating employees on laws, regulations and company policies that apply to their day-to-day job responsibilities. An organization that engages in compliance training typically hopes to accomplish sever ...

in nursing homes. :* In 2003, Fox Learning Systems provided the educational component of a study to improve quality of care and quality of life in nursing homes. Pressure ulcers were dramatically reduced. In addition, using the animation, the nursing staff learned to identify early stage pressure ulcers in different skin tones. Prior to this study, African-American nursing home residents with one pressure ulcer were likely to have multiple ulcers whereas this was not the case for Caucasian residents. After the education, no one, white or black, had more than a single

pressure ulcer Pressure ulcers, also known as pressure sores, bed sores or pressure injuries, are localised ulcer (dermatology), damage to the skin and/or underlying tissue that usually occur over a Bone, bony prominence as a result of usually long-term pres ...

. :* In 2004 Fox Learning Systems conducted a study based on the

Hamilton Depression Rating Scale The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), also called the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), sometimes also abbreviated as HAM-D, is a multiple-item questionnaire used to provide an indication of depression, and as a guide to evalua ...

to see if actors could effectively portray depressed patients. Their findings have been published in the

American Journal of Psychiatry ''The American Journal of Psychiatry'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering all aspects of psychiatry, and is the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association. The first volume was issued in 1844, at which time it was k ...

. Through this study Fox Learning System launched accupsych.com a learning system that can be used to train research raters. :* In 2005, Drs. Eric Lenze of

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

and colleagues conducted a study to determine if stroke victims could identify their own risk factors for stroke after completing inpatient physical rehabilitation. Surprisingly, the majority of patients were unaware of their own risk factors and therefore were not in a position to change any lifestyle patterns that would reduce risk of a subsequent stroke. Dr. Lenze and his colleagues approached Fox Learning Systems, Inc with the challenge of developing an adaptive learning educational tool that stroke victims would be able to use with the computer compensating for specific neurological deficits. :* In 2005, Fox Learning Systems conducted an NIH funded study dealing with

Electroconvulsive therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatry, psychiatric treatment that causes a generalized seizure by passing electrical current through the brain. ECT is often used as an intervention for mental disorders when other treatments are inadequ ...

. They produced an Interactive video to simplify and provide patient information on ECT. :* In 2008, Fox Learning Systems started phase two of their "Web Based Training for Families of Longterm Care". This seeks to assess family satisfaction, involvement, complaints, resident quality care and quality of life". :* In 2008, Fox Learning Systems started phase two of the NIH funded "Do Clinical Rehabilitation Education Programs Really Improve Stroke-Related Knowledge?". This is currently in the early stages of development with a time table of 3 years to completion.

References

{{Portal, Companies * Video production companies Companies based in Pittsburgh