Web journaling. Using informational technology to teach reflective practice

Reflection is a process by which we think about experiences and relieve them. Web journaling is a tool that gives students opportunities to use reflection when they are away from the immediate clinical environment. Through such reflection the student's personal knowledge that informs their practice is revealed. The revelation of personal knowledge is key to structuring subsequent faculty guidance. The web journal is a vehicle for student/faculty dialogue aimed at expanding both the faculty's responses to students' learning needs and the students' responses to persons in their care. Questions formulated in the dialogue direct the student's web-based search for new information. Faculty guidance subsequently focuses on the student's decisions regarding the use of information to direct clinical practice. Web journaling done over several nursing courses reinforces a model of learning, which is increasingly more deliberative and intentional. Web journaling may contribute to the development of practice throughout a nursing career because it becomes a way for self-directed learning.