Nurses' experiences of a post-RN course by computer mediated conferencing: friendly users

Students who had completed a post-RN university nursing course by computer mediated conferencing participated in a qualitative study examining their experience with this mode of delivery of distance education. All seven students reported that great difficulties with the technology at the beginning of the course caused them extreme frustration. However, despite the lack of user-friendliness of the technology, the students participated actively, functioned as a group, developed strong personal ties, and mastered the required content via the computer. These multiple-role women appreciated the ability to participate in discussion without the requirement of being at a specific place at a particular time. Having overcome the initial difficulties with the technology, all the students were enthusiastic about the method and would sign up for another computer mediated course.