TRREE stands for Training and Resources in Research Ethics Evaluation. The organisation provides an eLearning program on research ethics and regulation. TRREE has been recognised as a quality training program by national and international professional associations, such as the World Medical Association. In many parts of the world, TRREE is now integrated in the continuing education programs of physicians, pharmacists and other researchers in the fields of research ethics and Good Clinical Practice.
Launched in June 2009, the TRREE Moodle site has attracted more than 18,000 participants from 160 countries and distributed more than 39,000 certificates of completion. The 6 available modules can be accessed in 6 different languages (English, French, Portuguese, Chinese, German, and Polish). This puts TRREE in the top 1% of all Moodle registered sites in terms of users.
Moodle was chosen as the preferred learning platform after a careful assessment of the existing alternate offerings. The support of the global Moodle community, reliability and multi-lingual capabilities of Moodle are what appealed to the TRREE team. In addition, TREE were impressed by the contribution of the Moodle open-source project. TRREE shares many common values with Moodle. It is an initiative of academic and non-for profit organisations active in the field of health research, favouring a participative approach to collaboration.
The modular and participative approach is one of the strengths of TRREE. These attributes have contributed to its success, starting in Africa and then moving to Europe and now Asia and South America. A Chinese website (Chinese.trree.org) was launched from Taiwan in January 2016 and a translation in Brazilian of the training program will be available in the spring 2016.
Since 2009, TRREE adapted itself to the latest technical developments. Starting with Moodle version 1.9.4, it has been regularly upgraded with Moodle version releases. The site contains a number of custom changes (e.g. lesson module, multi-language glossary) that have been documented on a private git repository for future upgrades. The design is now responsive which allows the training program to be viewed on smartphone and tablets, facilitating access to the broader public.
