A very big hello from me,

George, and our teaching team. This is the first of four brief
introductory videos you'll find every two weeks throughout the course. As a means
of orienting
you to upcoming content, highlighting assessments,
and other activities. Before we get started on what
to expect in weeks one and two, there are just a few
things we'd like to mention. In this course we encourage
you to engage with content and material at a pace and
depth that best suits you. You may be looking to complete
the course in its entirety. Or simply be interested in watching a few
video lectures, or something in between. We have organised the course into weeks,
in a way that we feel best promotes
the building and linkage of content. But there is no right or wrong way to
learn in Global Adolescent Health. So feel free to do what works best for
you. Coursera may regularly send you
reminder emails designed to keep you on track with the suggested deadlines
we have set for various activities. But just ignore these if they
don't fit with your intentions or learning goals for this course. The only
important
deadlines are those set for the submission and
peer review of written assignments. Not adhering to these may mean your
assignments do not get graded in time. We'll talk more about this in
the introductory video for weeks three and four. Before diving into
Global Adolescent Health and all it has to offer, we very much
encourage you to review the ‘course info’. And ‘what to expect’
information available under the introductory section of week one. As it will really
help you make the most
of your experience in this course, whatever your learning goals may be. We also
very much encourage you to get
involved in the discussion forums. And please don't be shy about posting
questions or responses to others, or worry about the quality of your
English, if it is not your first language. This course is as much about
hearing your perspectives and learning from each other as
it is about learning from us. In my own service, one of our mantras is that there's
no such thing as a dumb question. And with so many others online,
if you are confused, or if you are uncertain about something. You can guarantee
you're not
going to be the only one. Likewise, in responding to the questions
or musings or reflections of your peers. You all have your own unique
experiences and contexts to draw upon. So please do not hesitate to
contribute in this way, as well. In addition to discussing course material, the
discussion forums are also a great
place to get to know your peers. Form study groups, recommend resources you
think may be of interest to us or others. Or make suggestions for how we can
improve this course in the future. Please do have a look. All right, so what to
expect in these first two
weeks of Global Adolescent Health. In week one we provide an overview
of adolescent health by presenting a conceptual framework for
adolescent health. We define adolescence,
we will explore with you how adolescence has changed over time and
some of the drivers of this. We discuss puberty and adolescent brain
development and their impacts on health. And we describe trends around the major
social role transitions of relevance for young people. Such as marriage and
partnering,
parenthood, education and employment, and the relationship of these to
health in adolescence and beyond. In week two we will delve into
the social determinants of health. We explore what these terms mean, and
how they shape adolescent health and development. We also begin to apply this
knowledge at a practical level. In terms of the interventions and
actions we can take to improve health and well being during adolescence. In
addition to the weekly
video lectures by George and me, we also have four terrific
video interviews with international experts across weeks one and
two. Each is very different and all are well
worth watching, I commend these to you. And finally, just a quick note about
the video lectures and interviews. If you are finding that George and
I are speaking too quickly or too slowly, you can slow us down or
speed us up. By using the control options available
via the menu that appears just under each video. You can also turn subtitles on and
off,
discuss your thoughts on the video. And download slides, transcripts or
the video itself to watch in your own time when you don't
have access to the internet. Enjoy these first two weeks
of Global Adolescent Health. We'll see you online, and
in the next introductory video for weeks three and four.