Faculty Development: Technology Training For Nurse Educators - Research Paper Example

 Faculty Development: Technology Training For Nurse Educators The past few years has seen an increase in the usage of computers and electronic media in different aspects of life. Where technology has revolutionized the working environment with fax machines and mobile phones, it has also altered the learning styles that students adopt. With Personal Digital Assistants and laptops, the concept of taking notes on the laptop and doing assignments on computers has become a common trend among students. Computer technology has changed the way pedagogical tools were being used to facilitate the job of teaching. This change has not only been in the disciplines of mathematics and physical sciences but has also impregnated medical sciences. As a result, the surge in the usage of computers has opened many vistas for educators. Nursing education has been no exception. It has had a leading role in developing innovative programs, integrating technology into teaching and for making education accessible for people who might not have access to it (Novotny & Davis, 2006). There are now many opportunities available for nursing educators for altering their style of teaching and adopting technology as aids for providing more graphic and comprehensive lectures. The advantages of using technology for teaching purposes override any drawbacks that accompany them. Undergraduate educational programs are now integrating technology as a learning aid for students since it allows the students to acquire competencies for practice (Cornelius & Gordon, 2006). Not only does technology promotes the learning of students but also gives them an opportunity to develop and polish their reasoning skills. However, there are obstacles that may prevent the nursing faculty from incorporating technology into their educational programs. This paper provides a summative analysis of the needs of teaching in NSU Kendal with regard to technology. The problems present are reflective of the opinions and mutual consent of nursing educators at the institution. The paper proposes a continuing education program for the workplace that addresses the needs of the educators. Moreover, this paper attempts to provide a rationale for the structures and processes that need to be employed in order to make teaching more inclusive of technology. Needs of the Faculty One of the major needs of the faculty with reference to the technology as a pedagogical tool was their training. Although technology would be able to solve the issues of delivering a comprehensive lecture and develop the competencies of the students in a better way, it fails to solve the problems that arise due to the lack of technical skills of the educators. It is easier for young students to adapt to and use technology but it poses a huge problem for nursing educators who did not grow up with such a high degree of exposure to technology. Axley (2008) observes that today’s expectation that faculty is going to incorporate technology for the purpose of teaching is met with challenges since it can be particularly stressful and tiring for educators who do not have mush kn0ow-how about computers and other technology. This can be a graver problem for those educators who are teaching a large number of students skilled and competent in the usage of technology. These students who have had a lot of exposure to technology are often called the Net Generation and fulfilling their educational needs is a challenge since the educator needs to develop a level of communication with the student. Therefore the Net Generation would be able to understand and get the concept better when it is communicated across a medium that they are comfortable in. Such students process and comprehend information differently than previous generation; educators should change their instructional strategies to incorporate technology in their teaching (Mastrian, McGonigle, & Mahan, 2011). It is necessary to bridge this gap in order to prepare the students for the practical field and make them competent not only in theoretical knowledge but also in the application of theory. Acquiring skills and knowledge relevant to technological tools for nursing education plays a pivotal role in student-centered learning (Young & Paterson, 2007). In the US, the using technology in the field of nursing and medicine is no longer a c choice. In 2004, the US passed a mandate that made it compulsory to use electronic health records. Moreover, the popularity of computer and other technologies in students necessitates a change in the curriculum to be more inclusive of technology. This calls for a workforce that is apt at using technology. Although NSU Kendal is not under-staffed, asking them to deliver lectures with a more technocentric approach would be a burden for them if they do not have the necessary skill and know-how about operating simulation software and other technologies. Therefore, measures should be taken to train the educators about the usage of software and other multimedia tools. Over the years, nursing educators have started to substitute overhead projectors with multimedia presentations. Also, there has been increased communication with students and other faculty members via the email. Communication can be enhanced by using technology for example taking the email addresses of the faculty and students and encouraging them to correspond with each other (Mertig, 2003). In the Needs Assessment conducted to judge the challenges to educational technology, it was seen that many of the nursing educators were on social networking sites and communicated with students and colleagues. They shared documents online, posted important notices and reminders and posted other educational details on their profiles. The students also felt that their teachers were accessible. This is a positive finding for the integration of technology in the teaching as many of the teachers would be able to pick up the skills required to operate it. Therefore, technological knowledge of the educators can be enhanced on three main levels. First would be training the educators about the operation of technology. Second would include the development of a forum for nursing educators to share and discuss their experiences and problems that they faced during the use of technology in teaching. Third would be to make online tutorials available for educators to access whenever they need. These measures have been discussed in greater detail in the following paragraphs. The aim of these measures would be to familiarize nursing educators with the necessary knowledge and skill that is needed to operate technology. Training The various skills that are needed by nursing educators include using computers to run simulation software, software related to virtual reality in a clinical setting and other videos and graphic applications. Moreover technology can be used by nursing educators to manage documents online. Students can be asked to turn in their assignments through the Internet and before turning them in; plagiarism software can be run to make sure that the assignments are the original works of the students. Moreover, nursing educators an structure their teaching online as well. Distance learning can be encouraged and this requires the educators to be competent at designing websites that make the course accessible to distance learners. Therefore, nursing training would require an integration of all of these needs of the educators. Since the level of competency in the usage of computers of nursing educators varies, the training program needs to address the very basics of computer know-how. Starting from the basics, the training program needs to teach the educators on how to use word processing applications, make powerpoint presentation, surf on the Internet, email, print documents, send faxes, transfer documents within the network etc. Moving to the advanced stages, the educators could be taught on the operation and usage of simulation software. The training program can incorporate a component of web-based teaching. This would entail the designing of web pages for course material that needs to be available online not only for distance learners but also for students who attend the university. Training could be given in large groups and learning sessions could be organized according to the conveniences of the educators. Moreover, the IT professionals who are delivering the training program can have one-on-one sessions with nursing educators to assist them in overcoming any specific problem that they are facing in using the computer. Educators could be taught about how to post material online, make software for the uploading examination questions, compiling the results of the students and making reports and carrying out statistical analysis to judge the trends in the way the examinations were attempted. Forums for sharing experiences Continuing education is necessary for technology to play a constructive role in the long-term. For technological education to be of value for educators, it needs to be ensured that the educators have grasped the concepts and know-how inherent in the training program firmly. The program would only be in place for a specified period of time. Educators who face problems in performing certain tasks in managing technology and are unable to resolve it would be tempted to give up the process all together to relieve themselves of the stress. For such issues, forums could prove to be very useful. Nursing educators who are facing problems can post them on the forum. This will allow the nursing educator to benefit from the responses of his or her colleagues and from the advice of professional technicians. Moreover, such forums can also be used to communicate course materials across to the students. Posting materials online would not only improve the knowledge and build upon the experience of the educators but would also allow them to pick up the difficulties that they faced in accessing the information and can be faced by students likewise. As a result, they can work on those problems and make the files more accessible for students. There could also be a forum for discussing the common problems being faced by educators in implementing the knowledge that they gained during the training session. A specific forum for the purpose of discussing problems and solutions for technical problems could be easier to navigate for the novice technology-trained educator. Online tutorials Online tutorials can be made available for educators as well in order to refresh their knowledge. It is difficult to remember and learn new skills in a short period of time. Therefore, chances are that educators would need to revisit the theory and steps that need to be followed for performing tasks online such as making a web page and using special nursing software. Information from online tutorials would not just serve to refresh the information that the educators acquired; it may also teach new skills to the educators. Moreover, if any of the educators misses a training session, he or she can take the online tutorial to catch up with the rest of the group. Likewise, the tutorial sessions can be useful for educators who due to some reason were not able to attend the training sessions or who are new employees and had joined after the training session had elapsed. The tutorial creators can focus on topics whose training was needed by the majority of the educators. These tutorials could include instructions on posting and sharing files online, setting passwords for secure documents, using online plagiarism and assignments handling software, instructions on developing resources for examinations, guide to developing web pages etc. The guides need to be brief and to the point; only those details are included that can be easily ignored by a novice user. Evaluation An important element of continuing education is to judge how successful the project has been. This would require taking the feedback of nursing educators. It could be evaluated by assessing the educators’ abilities to upload files online and by asking the educators to fill out a questionnaire regarding it. Interviews can also be undertaken to establish the effectiveness of the training sessions, forums and online tutorials. In order to ensure the success of the program, it is essential to develop commitment and confidence in the educators to explore and experiment with new approaches (Axley, 2008). Brochure for Faculty Training Why do you need training? According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), technological advances are incrementing opportunities that are available for the improvement and gradation of nursing education (AACN, 1999). With the increased dependence of the Net Generation on technology, nursing educators need to be competent in operating technology in order to be able to communicate with students at a level that they can relate to. Moreover, technology is revolutionizing the learning experience with simulation software and more interactive learning aids such as presentations. Educators need to be able to align themselves with the changing times and meet the demands of the students. What is our intention? Given the gap between the educators and the usage of technology, a project has been devised that seeks to equip the faculty with the essential know-how to operate computers and other software. However, you would be able to avail the training services not only in the training session but also through other ways. This includes a forum for educators as well as an online tutorial system. The Training Program Timings would be adjusted to the conveniences of the nursing educators. Large group training sessions One-on-one assistance Basics to advanced courses covered: Word processing, slide presentations Making videos and managing video-making software Learning how to operate simulation software and other technologies including the computer Surfing the Internet Learning how to post files online and share them Learning to make web pages for distance learners and regular scholars Managing assignments online, including plagiarism software, turn-it-in software etc. Uploading examinations materials, organizing test papers, compiling data and making statistical analyses online Posting notices and announcements online and emailing And many more Forums for sharing experience Forums for sharing experience would provide educators with an opportunity to not only share the problems that they faced during the usage of technology but also to help other members in solving their issues. Educators can benefit from the advice of technical people and the experiences of other people in using technology. Many of the problems that are faced by people are common problems and a specific forum for bringing together frequently encountered problems and their solutions can be useful for the users. Online tutorials If you have missed a training session or if you are a new member of the faculty, then online tutorials are the answer for you to train yourselves in integrating technology with teaching. Online tutorials would not only seek to refresh the skills of the educators but also may prove to be useful in learning new skills. The tutorials would be made available twenty-four hours and could be accessed easily online. Evaluation After a specified period of time has elapsed, a review of the effectiveness of the project would be carried out. This would be done by interviews and questionnaires as well as judging the competency of the educators such as posting a file online. Take Home Message It is not possible to develop a continuing education without instilling confidence in the users to explore with technology and to use it frequently in the future. This requires the will and cooperation of the participants. Works Cited AACN. (1999). AACN White Paper: Distance Technology in Nursing Education. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/publications/positions/whitepaper.htm Axley, L. (2008). The Integration of Technology into Nursing Curricula: Supporting Faculty via the Technology Fellowship Program. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing . Cornelius, F., & Gordon, M. G. (2006). Article: Introducing and Using Handheld Technology in Nursing Education. Retrieved from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1107943311.html Gordon, C. F. Article: Introducing and Using Handheld Technology in Nursing Education . Mastrian, K. G., McGonigle, D., & Mahan, W. L. (2011). Integrating Technology in Nursing Education: Tools for the Knowledge Era. Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Mertig, R. G. (2003). Teaching nursing in an associate degree program. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Novotny, J., & Davis, R. H. (2006). Distance education in nursing (2 ed.). New York: Springer Publishing Company. Young, L. E., & Paterson, B. L. (2007). Teaching nursing: developing a student-centered learning environment. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Read More