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Computer based learning versus traditional classroom training for newly employed nurses in a hospital setting. Education in nursing has been changing so much in the last few years with the introduction to the computers both in the classroom and at home with the students. Students are no longer expected to write papers but type them up; Papers are no longer expected to be just writing but integrated with pictures and graphs; Projects have also changed from who can learn the most to who can make it look good. Computers have revolutionized nursing education, but not without a cost.
The cost is the quality of education some students receive. Computers take time students would normally use reading and researching so that they can make their project or paper more attractive. Time is taken away because teachers have not looked upon quality lately, and teachers dont grade harshly if it looks good. Papers have such a high expectation of visibility and a low expectation of quality these days. This theory has been tested by both students and experts and has been found to be true. The same paper in a different form with more pictures and charts will get a significantly better grade then one of just writing.
They have also found that the same paper when written, as opposed to typed, will receive a significantly lower grade then the one done on the computer. This shows the paradigm shift that has taken place over the years from quality to computerization. If a medium could be reached where students put as much time and effort into the contents of their work as they did into the look of their work it could easily be said that education is better today then before (Crumb, 23). According to Nielsen (2001), it is 6 times more difficult for someone to use the Internet using a screen reader than using no assistive technology. Nielsen's study was carried out with people who had at least 3 years experience of using the assistive software and at least 3 months experience of using the Internet. The following may be considered to be examples of e-content in nursing: Learning objects eg.
small, interoperable chunks of learning and interactive scenarios; Video and audio eg. on-line lectures, digitised films; Text on-line eg. web pages; Links to external web pages; Content generated through collaborative tools e. g.
in a discussion board; Materials that are not electronic but associated with the e-learning process, e. g. printed materials. (Crumb, 25). Until the nursing student takes it upon his / her self to improve quality or until the teacher comes to grade on quality things will only be about who can make it look the best.
Any student will learn at a very early age that it is important to learn how to use the computer. It is also very important to learn how to integrate graphs, charts, and pictures into any document that is done for school. In doing this the student will receive a better grade in most cases with less work. In all cases the computer has drastically changed the way both student look at doing a project or paper and the way that the teacher will grade something (Donahue, 71).
Teaches need to stop looking at how the paper was done and start looking at the paper itself. If this happens grades would probably decrease for a little bit but there would be a shift back to students doing more quality work, instead of more attractive work. Computers are a great addition to our society, culture, and social structure. Computers are one of the greatest revolutions in the twentieth century and will most likely have the greatest impact on our civilization in general and the education in nursing in particular (Crumb, 26). The usage of the computer today, especially in education, is being abused.
Society is putting to much emphasis on technology rather than on education. We have what we do today because of the way people were educated in the past. Educators should look back on how they grade or rate students since a computer can not expand ones mind, only help it to better express what one is trying to say. We are looking more at how someone says something over what they say, and the learning process should not start out like this but rather end up in this mode. Computers are just used at to high of a rate early in the childs education process and takes both from learning skills and interpersonal communication skills (Ashley, 128). There is clearly a need for nursing staff to gain access to education in ways that are fundamentally different from the conventional methods of course delivery.
The proposal for this project is thus predicated on a number of assertions: Staff require a more effective multidisciplinary learning environment that takes account of intensive, high dependency and rehabilitation services Education is likely to be more effective if delivered at the point of need, whether that is in an intensive Care Unit or in a patient's home. Alternative methods of providing education need to take account of the isolation of some practitioners, outside of the main hospital setting. The nursing education provided needs to take greater account of the rhythm and geography of practice, across primary, secondary and tertiary services. Conventional education methods do not always provide mechanisms to bridge the conceptual gap between theory and practice (Donahue, 72).
Nursing Education systems need to support a framework that facilitates the transition from beginners to expert practitioners through a coherent pathway of using evidence, reflecting on practice and developing new skills (Crumb, 29). Nursing Education must take greater account of the relationship between care protocols, evidence supporting practice, clinical processes and how people learn. Over time, the system grows into a repository of resources developed by students, which provides a framework for student mentoring. Tutors have access to an easy-to-use set of administration tools. The design of the computer based education system must be so that its application in a subject such as nursing offers the possibility of extending its use in imaginative ways. The following developments that enable new approaches to linkages between theory and practice to be explored will be examined by the project and recommendations about the most promising work will be made at the end of the project.
Demonstration versions of the key ideas will be developed (Donahue, 73). Use of Image Maps. computer based education uses a 'click map' as its main device for moving around the places available to students in the virtual learning environment. This is simply a map or picture that enables the user to point on any one of a number of areas in the picture and this links to other supporting material. An example of a new use for nurses would be to develop a click map of a piece of equipment such as a medicine trolley (Ashley, 129). As the student clicks on the relevant labels information could be pulled up to give additional pharmacological or protocol data.
Another use would be to click and draw up information and self-assessment questions that test knowledge. The possibilities are extensive. Click Maps of a hospital ward with links to other Web sites of value could enable relevant research or protocols to be accessed quickly with a visual cue to prompt and interest. Using computer based education for disparate sites. computer based education provides an exciting opportunity to create a virtual learning environment that is greater than conventional geography.
This means that learning sets could be established to support collaborative problem solving activity between primary, secondary and tertiary centres. The current agenda for vertical integration of health services would lend itself to the support of education that offers freer access to colleagues dislocated by geography within regions or even across the international community (Crumb, 32). For example, this system offers the opportunity for a District Nurse in the Pennines to join a seminar or virtual lecture with an intensive care nurse in Leeds and a School Nurse in London (Donahue, 75). computer based education and role-play. computer based education has an interesting feature in the use of role-play. Students can enter the environment in any character and participate by anticipating the way in which their given character would interact.
In nursing this has particular application. The application of role-play as a learning device is widely used. computer based education would enable students to enter in role with the visual cues that distract from that role hidden. In other words it is, arguably, easier to imagine the other person in role if you cannot see them and confirm that they are not Florence Nightingale or whoever (Ashley, 130). Additionally the use of directed role-play is used in therapeutic environments that could be transferred into the virtual learning environment. This means that students could commence playing out a scenario and then under direction swap roles to explore the different bases for argument.
The support and supervision for students in this environment would be important. The debrief and disengagement would have to be managed carefully to offer the safety that is normal in these simulation activities. The potential for learning in a different way is well worth exploring and could be more easily simulated within computer based education (Donahue, 76). Computer based education and Case Work. The majority of Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors use case discussion as one approach to learning.
computer based education particularly lends itself to this approach as the data base could store and sort previous case discussions. With the use of an appropriate database it will be possible to access previous case discussions and compare experience with that of previous students. The use of simulated case work would easily complement the development of the 'Case Discussion' Area. The development of new approaches to case-based reasoning systems is demonstrated in the work of Donna Mead in Glamorgan (Ashley, 139). This system enables systematic analysis of written material to support the extraction of decision-making patterns in any given scenario. This system enables the way in which clinical decision making is conducted to be examined and used in supporting decision making and in learning how decisions are made.
It would be possible to build new tools and devices into computer based education to integrate systems such as protocol development tools, decision-analysis mechanisms and a database to store and retrieve casework information (Donahue, 78). Computer based education and counseling. Experienced counsellors are familiar with the strength of anonymity in the counselling environment. Indeed the use of telephone counselling support is recognised as an approach that offers greater privacy for the service user and is the preferred approach for some people.
computer based education offers a private environment for each person who participates. The student can choose their identity and manage their contribution in ways that can be more comfortable without the pressure of non-verbal cues (Ashley, 132). Using a virtual learning environment to learn about different approaches to counseling is yet to be explored. The approach is highly relevant to nursing and could be explored within an applied project through computer based education.
Trans-cultural Nursing. computer based education offers an opportunity to link nurses in different cultural environments to support exchange of ideas and an opportunity to question and challenge assumptions and values. The system makes this readily accessible as the entire interaction uses the world-wide Web. There are already plans to link students in USA and UK to share information and exchange ideas (Donahue, 80). In conclusion I would like to note that Practitioners who want flexible access to education can easily drop in and out of the system. The system gives particular support to part-time and distance learners.
Builds on previous experience of learning (especially of other learners). Learning in clinical practice is supported by easy access to other people and resources that support evidence based practice (literature, research and Multi-professional databases). Participant may keep in touch, geographically and across time. Given the move to community-based practice, learners can access from any site or even from home.
Sharing, challenging and discussing evidence from a variety of workplaces can support emergent and best practice. References: Crumb, Thomas, Computers in Nursing, McGraw Hill, 2002. Ray, John, Nursing education today, Prentice Hall, 2001. Donahue, Andrew, Nursing, Oxford University Press, 2002. Ashley, Diana, Education that uses computers, Harvard University Press, 2001. Coyne, K. , and Nielsen, J. , (2001), Beyond ALT Text: Making the Web Easy to Use for Users with Disabilities, NN/g com reports / accessibility , web
Free research essays on topics related to: theory and practice, computer based, learning environment, based education, role play
Research essay sample on Theory And Practice Computer Based
