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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Disaster Preparedness by University of Pittsburgh

4.7
stars
1,536 ratings

About the Course

Have you ever viewed a news report depicting the aftermath of a devastating natural disaster? The damage to human life and property are both staggering and heartbreaking. All parts of the world face the possibility of floods, hurricanes, tornados, fires, landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural phenomena. Are you prepared if disaster would strike you? This course will help you prepare! The course is appropriate for any learner who is proactive about developing the core competencies of disaster readiness and survival planning. It is especially useful if you are seeking techniques that can ensure your personal protection, as well as the safety of your family, property, and belongings, during a natural disaster. In addition, it offers essential preparation for a variety of emergency situations and inconveniences, even if you do not live in major tornado, flood, hurricane, tsunami, or earthquake zone. For instance, could you and your loved ones manage without access to potable water, electricity, fuel, and banking facilities? If you are unsure of your ability to respond in any of these possible scenarios, this course is for you! Throughout the course, you will be introduced to the Disaster Cycle, specifically the Mitigation and Recovery phases, and will create an extensive personal preparedness plan for survival in the absence of common amenities, such as food and water, shelter, and communication. You will also acquire practical, easy-to-apply strategies for maintaining a healthy attitude during disaster which can allow you to remain calm, avoid panic, and draw upon inner and outer resources in dire circumstances. Although death may be an inevitable outcome of extreme circumstances, a balanced outlook can provide comfort for all parties involved. Finally, issues of how institutions and governments can aid in disaster are also discussed. If you are interested in this topic you may be interested in other online programs at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Learn more about those programs by visiting our website: http://www.online.pitt.edu/programs/school-of-nursing/...

Top reviews

CH

Jan 30, 2017

Really great course that's paced well. I believe this is a course everyone should and CAN take! These things are important to know especially if you live in an area where disasters are prone.

JL

Oct 7, 2020

grateful to have this kind of Course in here while having sponsor. Most important course because it teaches the basic surviving skills and safety during disaster. likewise, Safety First!

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26 - 50 of 460 Reviews for Disaster Preparedness

By John R E L

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Oct 8, 2020

grateful to have this kind of Course in here while having sponsor. Most important course because it teaches the basic surviving skills and safety during disaster. likewise, Safety First!

By Nicole W

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Jun 22, 2020

The information is interesting; however, the way in which it is presented is rather dry and boring. There are much better MOOCs out there that illustrate the importance of planning a course to engage the learner. This course fails to do that. In addition in order to complete the class, there is a peer reviewed assignment. It seems some participants will score you low with no explanation even if you follow the rubric. I took this course due to the current issues in the United States. Sadly, I realized that it really is not worth the effort due to the subjective nature of grading.

By Chris B

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Mar 17, 2016

Very baisc, and uninteresting

By ANKUR S

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Oct 14, 2021

Great, learning experience, Fully operational, Useful content, easy learning, updated all timeline on time.

By John T T

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Nov 1, 2021

A-W-E-S-O-M-E

By Bradley A P

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Jan 7, 2022

Curriculum and presentation were largely on target. Perhaps a little on the basic end, but the course was intended as an introduction. I have some previous training for some of these skills, including backcountry camping, wilderness first aid, and incident management, and these areas were covered well.

By Damián N

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Apr 18, 2020

There is political propaganda on a Required Reading, this and another "facts" that are myths like the twinkies expiration dates. Some good advices but the course need some revision

By Benjamin M

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Apr 13, 2020

Course is incredibly basic- if you have any survival background I am sorry to tell you that you probably won't learn much new and will be disappointed by the material. The lessons themselves are incredibly bland (Instructor Beach basically is just talking in front of a plain blue background the entire time- don't be fooled by the intro making it seem like he is out and about showing you practical scenarios), the material is outdated and does not include modern technology/alternative energy sources (i.e. when discussing light batteries are essentially the only recommended source of power when in fact you can easily and cheaply obtain more reliable methods like crank, shake, solar- even rechargeable lithium batteries you could charge via a USB solar pack connected to portable solar panel!). If you have absolutely no experience with disaster and zero knowledge of preparedness then this course might be for you. Unfortunately it was a major let down for me and material that should be relevant and interesting I found to be too basic to even really be considered a good refresher...

By Lindsey F

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May 1, 2020

I do not trust peer evaluations. My assignment was thoroughly researched, well explained and clearly structured. I utilized EIGHT (8) references and even managed to format my HTML references in MLA style. A peer reviewer gave me 3 and 1 across the board without even bothering to read my assignment.

By Igor K

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Apr 28, 2020

This is definitely a needed course for all those, who were panic-buying toilet paper! The international perspective video was interesting, but the rating is given due to non-academic approach and very poor production value throughout.

By Michelle P

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Apr 16, 2020

This course was interesting but seemed to be overly anecdotal and based on opinions

By Chasta P

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May 12, 2021

outdated

By Michael-Scott G

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May 26, 2020

waste of time

By CK T

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May 5, 2022

Great course for those who are interested in disaster preparedness. The topics covered basic of the disaster preparedness, survival techniques, medical assistance, international aid, example of Japan 2011 great earthquake and tsunami etc. The instructor and invited guest speakers are very experienced in providing disaster assistance with a vast amount of on-the-ground examples, this is very helpful for the student to understand the actual situation in the disaster scene.

I attended disaster preparedness courses about a decade ago, and I found this course is very helpful in the revision of my knowledge as well as practical examples of the actual ground situation and solutions. As climate change and extreme weather events have been a serious threat to everyone on earth, I believe everyone should really learn how to cope with these new normals and be more well-prepared for the disaster. This will be a good start for those who wish to learn in detail about disaster preparedness.

After the courses, do remember to prepare your Home Kit, Jump Kit and Covid Kit with your prepared assignment.

By JOSEPH I

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Aug 2, 2021

I DIDN'T ADD THIS ON MY PREVIOUS SUBMISSION. IN THE AMERICAN RED CROSS FIRST AID THEY TEACH YOU TO USE WHAT EVER TO DO AN EMERGENCY TREACHEOTOMY IF IT INCLUDES USING PART OF A PEN THERE IS NO REASON NOT TO USE IT. SUPPOSE NOBODY IS AROUND AND THE PERSON CAN NOT BREATHE ??? WHAT DO YOU DO PRAY TO GOD AND HOPE FOR THE BEST ? YOU NEED TO DO WHAT EVER IS NEEDED IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION GIVEN THE FACT THAT ALL OTHER RESOURCES ARE EXHAUSTED. DO YOU DO IT ? IN MY EYES YOU BET YOUR ASS YOU DO IT. IF YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS WHEN OTHER OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE IS IT WRONG ? YEA IT IS AND I DO AGREE WITH THE INSTRUCTOR. THAT BEING SAID IT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO EVALUATE EACH SITUATION FOR WHAT IT IS AND OPTIONS AVAILABLE AND TAKE IT FROM THERE. I HAD TO CLARIFY THIS IT HAS BEEN BUGGING ME. OVER ALL THE COURSE IS VERY INFORMATIVE EVEN FOR THOSE WHO KNOW MORE THAN MOST. TY !

By Jesselle M S

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Nov 2, 2020

What stuck me the most in this course is that I need to learn to be aware to the degree that I must not lose all my senses when I tend to focus on one sense because it may lead me to be "blinded" by other stuff that I also need to be aware of. Second, I need to be flexible not only in the time of disasters but almost on all unexpected situations. This challenged my critical thinking and immersed me well like how it would feel during those overwhelming times. I'm excited to share my learning with my family, friends, and even my workmates. Thank you University of Pittsburg for this course!!

By Christopher A

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May 3, 2020

Disaster Preparedness course content in my opinion was complete. Adequate lectures duration.The invited guess speakers were not just any body but experts with down to earth practical examples for students not only to understand but conceptualize. The end of every subtopic quiz was a good summary.The section I enjoyed most was to write on 'Home Disaster Preparedness and Jump kit'. This has open my brain and changed my dressing code since one is living in a world where any situation can arise at any time.Most of us depend on God or our supreme being but must do our part.

By Angelica J

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Nov 5, 2020

This course shed a little more light in how we should perform during emergencies. In disaster situations, government response may take a while therefore, every member of the family, of the community should be able to fend for themselves until help arrives. Making the Family Preparedness Plan reminded me that this activity not only binds the family together, it also reinforces our resolve to not be a burden to the government by doing our civic duty of being self aware and self sufficient on our road to resiliency.

By M. P D D S

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May 12, 2023

I am an experienced person with disaster preparedness and disaster Management. But this was very useful for learning the theoretical facts related to this subject. I appreciate this very much. Also, many thanks to all the lecturers. I also gained practical experience in disaster management from the Sri Lanka Navy. Many thanks to the Sri Lanka Navy for that. Especially the flood work in the Hanwella area, Sri Lanka and the firefighting work after the explosion of the armoury of the Army camp in Shalawa, Sri Lanka.

By JunLeo M

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Jan 9, 2023

excellent ..... this disaster preparedness cover a lot from the little things to big things. Disaster comes like a thief in the night..youll never know when it strike... but if you are prepare for it and you have a personal and family disaster plan ...communication. security, transportation plan.... constant rehearsal and practice until you master it... make a list and inventory of items needed...go bag, first aid kit, water and canned goods, clothing, medicines, weapons, flashlight,

By Sheena N

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Jun 25, 2022

Excellent content that is taught in a very well organized manner.

I loved the instructors practicality. With so many fancy gadgets on the market it can get very confusing and overwhelming. Suggestions on supplies and gear are made with the goal of ease of use, versatility, and quality, but not necessarily what is most expensive or "pretty".

I have already recommended this course to many of my friends, and will continue to do so.

By DIBYA J P

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Jun 16, 2020

The instructor seemed very humble and the making discussions type video was really helpful. Apart from that, I had some expectation about disaster in other countries because in this course, there were more context on USA. Moreover, India also has experienced lots of disaster especially cyclones. Even Nepal also experienced earthquake, belonging to third world country. If this had been added it would have been more informative.

By Julia B

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Jul 13, 2020

I really enjoyed this. I was able to help my family and friends especially since I live on a hurricane active land. I never got bored and it was super informative. I want to become a meteorologist and help people and our instructor is very easy to understand and talks slowly and has slideshows if you want to see what he is talking about. I am getting great grades on my tests! I love this course! I highly recommend!

By JADAB K P

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Jul 24, 2023

Great course, I had not imagined earlier. We learnt the disaster preparedness and especially keeping the jump kit or go bag ready for any type of disaster. The Coursera Community and the peers are very helpful. They evaluated the assignment in time. I'm grateful to all for helping me to complete this course. I hope this will be very useful for my future career in disaster management.

By JUN M B

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Apr 16, 2021

Very informative. It kind of rekindled my days in the forest surviving with just what is available. Though some of the techniques are more advance than what is available in my country it's almost similar. I hope to again enroll in another class to further equip me, add more knowledge and know-how imperative to any survival situation or in the event of a disaster