Related Experiment Videos
Putting post-registration nursing students on-line: important lessons learned.
Heather J Wharrad1, Elaine Cook, Cherry Poussa
1School of Nursing, The University of Nottingham, England, UK. heather.wharrad@nottingham.ac.uk
Nurse Education Today
|May 18, 2005
Summary
This study evaluated a website and discussion forum for nursing students, finding that increased website use correlated with better peer communication and support. Strategies are proposed to enhance online learning engagement and participation.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Education
- Health Informatics
- Educational Technology
Background:
- Part-time nursing degree programs require enhanced IT skills.
- Previous student cohorts identified a need for explicit health informatics training.
- Online platforms can support student learning and IT skill development.
Purpose of the Study:
- Evaluate the utilization of a dedicated website and discussion forum.
- Identify barriers hindering student engagement with the online platform.
- Propose strategies to overcome identified barriers and improve online learning.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of website traffic (page hits) and discussion forum contributions.
- Student feedback collected via questionnaires.
- Follow-up focus group discussions with high and low forum users.
Main Results:
- Higher website access correlated with improved peer communication (p < 0.01) and peer support (p > 0.05).
- Students varied in their confidence and participation in the discussion forum; some were hesitant to contribute ('lurking').
- No participants had prior experience with discussion forums.
Conclusions:
- Online platforms can foster peer communication and support in nursing education.
- Barriers to online discussion forum participation exist, including lack of prior experience and confidence.
- Targeted strategies are needed to improve engagement and the quality of online learning experiences for nursing students.