A comparison of on-campus first year undergraduate nursing students' experiences with face-to-face and on-line discussions

Exploring challenges and facilitators to E-learning based Education of nursing students during Covid-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a shift to e-learning and online education in educational and learning processes. Research has shown that nursing students who are satisfied with e-learning tend to have better learning outcomes. Therefore, this qualitative study aimed to explore the challenges and facilitators of e-learning for nursing students during the pandemic.

METHODS

This qualitative study utilized a content analysis approach. Sixteen participants with nursing education experience were purposively selected and interviewed using a semi-structured format. The data collected were analyzed using the conventional qualitative content analysis approach.

RESULTS

Through data analysis, two main categories were identified: e-learning challenges and facilitators. The e-learning challenges included subcategories such as inexperienced teachers, ineffective learning, academic cheating, system problems, and inappropriate evaluation. The facilitators included subcategories such as improving education, and promoting online exams.

CONCLUSIONS

While e-learning was adopted as a substitute for in-person education during the COVID-19 pandemic, its implementation involves both challenges and facilitators. By addressing the challenges and optimizing the facilitators of e-learning, nursing schools can successfully adapt to this new mode of education in the post-pandemic era and provide high-quality education to their students.

Use of the seven principles of effective teaching to design and deliver an interactive hybrid nursing research course

AIM

This study examined how applying the seven principles of effective teaching to designing and delivering an undergraduate nursing research course in a hybrid format affected course quality.

BACKGROUND

Existing research does not adequately describe how the design and delivery processes of hybrid courses affect course outcomes or how these processes address informatics learning resources and students' varying levels of computer skills.

METHOD

A hybrid nursing research course was designed and delivered to 105 nursing students using Blackboard and Tegrity systems. Using a mixed-methods approach, students' satisfaction with the course was measured and achievement was compared with those of a comparable previous cohort that had taken the same course in the traditional format.

RESULTS

Students reported high satisfaction with the course and obtained significantly higher scores than students in the previous semester. Concerns included working in groups and the additional workload associated with the online component. CONCLUSION Applying the seven principles of effective teaching in design and delivery can improve the quality of hybrid courses.

Effectiveness of an e-learning tool for education on pressure ulcer evaluation

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effectiveness of information and communication technologies in the undergraduate students' pressure ulcer training as a learning tool, compared with traditional teaching methods.

BACKGROUND

Pressure ulcers constitute one of the great challenges faced by nursing professionals. Currently, pressure ulcer training is based on traditional on-campus teaching, involving lecture-style classes with frequent use of photographs of the wounds. This traditional training has some important weaknesses that can put the efficacy of the training at risk.

DESIGN

A randomised controlled trial was developed including undergraduate nursing students.

METHODS

The intervention group used an adaptive self-learning e-learning tool developed by the research team (ePULab) for pressure ulcer assessment and treatment. The control group received a traditional on-campus class on the same topic. Pretest and post-test questionnaires were designed to assess the students' ability in pressure ulcer diagnosis and treatment.

RESULTS

The educational intervention based on the use of the ePULab tool produced significantly better learning acquisition results than those obtained by traditional lecture-style classes: the total score improved in the control group from 8·23 (SD 1·23)-11·6 (SD 2·52) after the lecture, whereas in the intervention group, the knowledge score changed from 8·27 (SD 1·39)-15·83 (SD 2·52) (p = 0·01) with the use of ePULab.

CONCLUSIONS

The results show a higher effectiveness of the devised e-learning approach for education on management of pressure ulcers.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Our results reveal the suitability of the ePULab e-learning tool as an effective instrument for training on assessment of and treatment for pressure ulcers and its potential impact on clinical decision-making.

Chat educacional em enfermagem: possibilidades de interação no meio virtual

Pesquisa documental com abordagem qualitativa do tipo estudo de caso, que analisou os diálogos produzidos por alunos de Enfermagem em um contexto mediado por chat educacional em Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem (AVA). Os dados constituíram-se de oito discussões promovidas por alunos, professores e monitores da Escola de Enfermagem da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul no chat do AVA TelEduc® sobre a atividade denominada Cliente Virtual. Para a categorização dos dados, utilizou-se o software NVivo®; e para a análise das informações, a técnica de Análise de Conteúdo. Os resultados revelaram sentimentos como ansiedade, medo e motivação perante a prática hospitalar, bem como o posicionamento dicotômico dos alunos frente à atividade proposta: alguns gostaram das discussões virtuais, enquanto outros preferiram as presenciais. O artigo apresenta recomendações para o uso de chat educacional no ensino de Enfermagem.

Electronic learning and constructivism: a model for nursing education

Nurse educators are challenged to teach nursing students to become competent professionals, who have both in-depth knowledge and decision-making skills. The use of electronic learning methods has been found to facilitate the teaching-learning process in nursing education. Although learning theories are acknowledged as useful guides to design strategies and activities of learning, integration of these theories into technology-based courses appears limited. Constructivism is a theoretical paradigm that could prove to be effective in guiding the design of electronic learning experiences for the purpose of providing positive outcomes, such as the acquisition of knowledge and decision-making skills. Therefore, the purposes of this paper are to: describe electronic learning, present a brief overview of what is known about the outcomes of electronic learning, discuss constructivism theory, present a model for electronic learning using constructivism, and describe educators' roles emphasizing the utilization of the model in developing electronic learning experiences in nursing education.

Web-based collaborative training of clinical reasoning: a randomized trial

BACKGROUND

Clinical reasoning skills are essential for medical practice. Problem-based collaborative learning via the internet might prove useful in imparting these skills.

AIM

This randomized study assessed whether web-based learning (WBL) is superior to face-to-face problem-based learning (PBL) in the setting of a 6-week cardio-respiratory course.

METHODS

During winter term 2007/08, all 148 fourth-year medical students enrolled in the 6-week course consented to be randomized in small groups to diagnose a patient complaining of dyspnoea either using a virtual collaborative online module or a traditional PBL session. Clinical reasoning skills were assessed by means of a key feature examination at the end of the course.

RESULTS

No significant difference between the mean scores of both study groups was detected (p = 0.843). In virtual learning groups, costs for diagnostic tests were significantly correlated to the number of contributions to online group discussions (r = 0.881; p = 0.002). Evaluation data favored traditional PBL sessions over virtual collaborative learning.

CONCLUSION

While virtual collaborative learning was as effective as traditional PBL regarding the acquisition of clinical reasoning skills, it was less well accepted than traditional PBL. Future research needs to determine the ideal format and time-point for computer-assisted learning in medical education.

A multi-method study to determine the effectiveness of, and student attitudes to, online instructional videos for teaching clinical nursing skills

E-learning is regularly promoted in higher education settings as a way of fostering more flexible approaches to learning. It has been argued however that the 'potential benefits of new information and communication technology instruments in education' have not been subjected to critical scrutiny (Debande, O., 2004. ICTs and the development of e-learning in Europe: the role of the public and private sectors. European Journal of Education 39 (2), 191-208, p. 192). This paper outlines a multi-method evaluation of an e-learning innovation designed to teach clinical skills to student nurses. Responding to the challenges of teaching clinical skills to large class sizes, we developed a set of instructional videos for one undergraduate skills-based module, which are now integral to the module and available online to students on a continuous basis. Evaluation suggests that students' performance outcomes are unchanged. The students view the flexible and self-management aspects of this method of learning positively, with some attitudinal differences between male and female, and mature and non-mature students. However, it is best used to complement rather than replace lecturer demonstration, lending support to a 'blended' model (Collis, B., van der Wende, M., 2002. Models of Technology and Change in Higher Education: An International Comparative Survey on The Current and Future Use of ICT in Higher Education, University of Twente, Center for Higher Education Policy Studies, The Netherlands).