Technology in the Classroom Katherine A Sward, MS, RN University of Utah College of Nursing

Transcription

1 Technology in the Classroom Katherine A Sward, MS, RN University of Utah College of Nursing Objectives At the end of the session, you should be able to identify Pressures for, and barriers to, use of technology in the classroom Types of technology in the classroom Issues related to technology in the classroom From notebooks to notebooks Technology has become ubiquitous Integration of technology into our daily lives and into clinical practice necessitates increasing use of technology in the classroom Background Midwives and other nurses are knowledge workers. We need to actively access, manage, and process information in clinical practice, research, and education We need to communicate our knowledge with each other Public policy has been one of the driving forces in the move to introduce technology into nursing education. IOM reports increased public awareness of errors, and technology has been promoted as one means of reducing errors through better management of health information. The increase in technology on the clinical side, and an increasingly tech-savvy population of students, has necessitated an increase in the use of technology in the classroom. Advances in technology have increased the availability of information and how we access and organize it. Nursing is an information-intensive profession; technology is a TOOL to help manage information Unfortunately, nursing education has been slow to take advantage of advances in information management concepts, techniques, and tools

2 AACN position statement Nursing education must encompass requirements for current practice AND must prepare students for practice in the future Careful use of technology in education may well enhance the profession's ability to educate nurses for practice, prepare future nurse educators, and advance nursing science The AACN has encouraged use of technology in nursing education. We ll talk about the impact on teaching methods first, then discuss examples of hardware and software in the classroom. Impact on Teaching/Pedagogy Resistance is common Technology in the classroom may be met with faculty resistance and barriers Fears, anxiety Demands on time Cognitive dissonance: expert clinician/teacher but many educators view themselves as novice technology users Although the benefits of having ready access to information seem obvious, there are costs and strategic planning activities associated with implementing technology. Clearly, the objective of any academic nursing program is to develop skills among students so they can efficiently access information and use that information to guide their nursing practice. To do so, faculty must envision how technologies can support achieving this goal and administrators must put in place the infrastructure to support use of technology. Cravener (1999) asked nursing faculty about online learning. Four broad areas of impact were identified: faculty workload, access, adapting to technology, and instructional quality. Benefits were expanded student access to educational resources, individualized instruction, active learning. Challenges appear to be related predominantly to faculty workloads, adjusting to new technologies, and online course management.

3 Impact on Teaching Information technology is just a tool! Use of technology enables us to solve new problems, or to approach old problems in new ways. But it s just a tool Bad teachers using technology will still be bad, and good teachers will still be good However, technology changes assumptions about what constitutes quality education Students have come to expect quick communications The AACN position papers note that technology has been revolutionizing assumptions about what constitutes quality in education ( Papers/whitepaper.htm) Impact on Teaching Technical skills are just a small part IT also impacts communications and pedagogical style Electronic communications changes expectations about response time. As space and time boundaries become porous, faculty role changes to facilitator and guide rather than imparter of knowledge Impact on Teaching Teachers are responsible for the quality of their courses and must determine the most appropriate electronic learning activities that will help students to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for clinical practice. Technology-mediated teaching strategies can change dramatically the way teaching and learning occurs, challenging the traditional relationship of students to academic institutions. These strategies may change conventional thinking about how quality of educational programs is assessed and what is required to support student learning (e.g., library access, counseling services, computing equipment, tuition, and financial aid). From AACN position statement Papers/whitepaper.htm Adams, 2004 DeBourgh (2003) surveyed graduate nursing students to see what predicted satisfaction with online courses. Overall instructor rating strongly correlated with satisfaction, and teaching was the most important impact on student satisfaction with distance education. Students acclimate quickly to technology, and once accustomed, it is the quality and effectiveness of instructor and instruction, not the technology, that was associated with satisfaction.

4 Gizmos and Gadgets and Graphics, Oh My! What sort of technology might we see in the classroom? In this section, we ll discuss examples of technologies that might be seen in the classrorom. Clinical Teaching Interactive Techniques Content Content Reference texts, calculators PDA s E-books websites Content Evidence-based learning and practice Library management (library catalog) Pub-med, CINAHL, etc. Online journals Evaluation (online testing) Teaching about clinical care Skills and equipment Documentation, medical records Billing (how to do charges and billing) Simulators (e.g., Sim-Man/Sim-Woman) Educational games Examples Presentation software such as PowerPoint Interactive Video Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) programs Interactive CD s A student might use a PDA, for example, to research a patient's medication, study course information, access references during class in response to a question, or download clinical materials from home. E-books include texts such as Harrison s and drug references. Many websites contain calculators and other useful information. Note: we need to help students learn to distinguish useful web information from sites that are bogus Billings (2005) notes that we already know technology will support teaching and learning, and that distance learning is no less effective than classroom learning. However, we still need to learn, "How can we use technologies to improve student learning and the outcomes of our academic programs?" Answers to this question will ultimately help educators prepare students to deliver safe and competent patient care in the mobile, wireless world.

5 Perspectives on Web technology and distance learning Web technology Not just distance learning Used for: Communications ( ) Collaboration (discussion boards) Content Course management software (e.g., WebCT or Blackboard) increasingly used for traditional as well as distance courses Online learning Extent of web use falls along a continuum Minimal (syllabus only) to web enhanced (assignments, readings, notes ) to fully online Online coursework could be asynchronous or synchronous Continuum ranges from minimal posting of materials to use for communication & collaboration, to majority of content, to fully online in asynchronous or synchronous modes. Two views of technology classrooms from the U of U s new Health Sciences Education Building The Technology Classroom The Technology Classroom

6 Issues related to technology in the classroom Classroom Ethics Increased use of technology raises concerns in the classroom Copyright infringement Privacy/confidentiality Plagiarism The use of technology and especially the use of the Internet, raises questions regarding intellectual property and copyrights, privacy of educational dialogue, and other related legal and ethical issues Papers/whitepaper.htm Please put your pagers on stun Many students are using PDA s, notebook computers/laptops, or similar devices during class. In graduate programs, students are often practicing clinicians and need to wear pager/cell May require reminders of classroom etiquette (put in silent mode, answer during break ) Sail the seven C s (Outcomes) Critical thinking Creativity Collaboration Communication Cross-cultural understanding Computing and information management Career/learning self-reliance 3 R s * 7 C s = 21 st Century Learning Classroom courtesy regarding technology is a relatively new addition to traditional classroom etiquette. Outcomes include Increased computer skills Increased information management skills Move toward self-directed, collaborative learning models (adult learning) Development of cognitive skills regarding acquisition, assessment, management, and use of information across diverse knowledge domains Seven C s from: B Trilling (2005). New essential skills. Technologyand Learning, 26 (4), 11.

7 Bibliography Adams, A.M. (2004). Pedagogical underpinnings of computer-based learning. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 46(1), Ali, N.S. (2005). Online education: Needs assessment for faculty development. Journal Of Continuing Education In Nursing, 36 (1), American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2005). Response to the Institute of Medicine s Report To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, accessed Feb 2006 at AND Position Paper on Distance Education, accessed Feb 2006 at Billings, D.M. (2005). From teaching to learning in a mobile, wireless world. The Journal Of Nursing Education, 44 (8), 343. Brooks, F. (2006). Knowledge work in nursing and midwifery: an evaluation through computermediated communication. International Journal Of Nursing Studies,43 (1), Christian, E. (2003). Why do nurse educators need computers in the classrooms? On-line Journal of Nursing Informatics, 7(2). (5p). Accessed Feb 2006 at Cravener, P.A. (1999). Faculty experiences with providing online courses. Thorns among the roses. Computers In Nursing, 17 (1), Cuellar, N. (2002). The transition from classroom to online teaching. Nursing Forum, 37(3), Debourgh, G.A. (2003). Predictors of student satisfaction in distance-delivered graduate nursing courses: what matters most? Journal Of Professional Nursing, 19(3), Fullerton, J.T. (2003). Evaluation strategies for midwifery education linked to digital media and distance delivery technology. Journal Of Midwifery & Women's Health, 48(6), Lashley, M. (2005). Faculty forum. Teaching health assessment in the virtual classroom. Journal of Nursing Education, 44(8), Sinclair, M & Gardner, J. (1999). Planning for information technology: Key skills in nurse education. Journal Of Advanced Nursing, 30(6), Shovein, J., Huston, C., Fox, S., & Damazo, B. (2005). Challenging traditional teaching and learning paradigms: Online learning and emancipatory teaching. Nursing Education Perspectives, 26 (6), Simpson, R.L., (2003). Welcome to the virtual classroom. How technology is transforming nursing education in the 21st century. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 27 (1), Trilling, B (2005). New essential skills. Technology and Learning, 26 (4), 11. Watkinson, G (2004). Virtual interactive practice: utilizing healthcare information systems to contextualize the skills associated with clinical decision making within nurse education. Medinfo 2004, Vol. 11 (Pt 1), pp ; (Pt 2), pp Willmer, M. (2005). Promoting practical clinical management learning: the current situation about Information and Communications Technology capability development in student nurses. Journal Of Nursing Management, 13 (6), ;