Podcasts, webcasts, sims, and more: new and innovative ways for nurses to learn

ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY HAVE expanded the educational tools and learning options available to today's nurses. Among these technologically enhanced tools and strategies are online learning, podcasts, vodcasts, webcasts, webinars, discussion forums, mobile learning, realistic simulations, and others. What exactly are these options? Which ones are the most effective? This is the first topic we will address in a new column on educational strategies in the NICU, a column designed to familiarize NICU nurse educators, clinical nurse specialists, managers, and preceptors with innovative and evidenced-based teaching strategies that promote optimal learning among NICU nurses. The purpose of this first column is to provide an introduction to innovative teaching tools and strategies-some technologically enhanced, some not-including such nontechnological interactive educational activities as problem-based learning, games, and concept maps. Future columns will discuss many of these strategies in more detail.