Building nursing informatics courses on the Web

The Information Technology is rapidly being integrated into Educational Institutions and Health Care Environments. Although the use of computer for education and training is not new to the academic society, further prospects are available through the use of emerging technologies as the Multimedia and the World Wide Web. In today's rapidly changing healthcare environment, the need for high quality, cost effective education for employees, consumers, and students is gaining increased attention. The development of customised computer-based training programs has long been beyond the capabilities or financial resources of most healthcare organisations; however, with recent advancements in technology, this situation is rapidly changing. The Nurses represent the greater part of the Health Care Professionals thus the education of this group is of outmost importance for the health-care environments. The World Wide Web can be used as an educational tool in order to have better-educated Nurses not only by supporting the Academic institutions but also by providing Distance Learning Education covering new aspects of the Nursing Science. The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of the ways in which the emerging technologies of Multimedia and the World Wide Web can enhance the learning process, and also provide education at a distance.