education and Informatics

education and InformaticsHow technology influences the way we teach and the way we learn

The first student?The first student?????T

Weve come a long way since the advent of papyrus..

Not to mention chalk and blackboard

Fifty years ago the projected growth of technology was far from accurate. No one could have predicted the informatics explosion of the last two decades. The advances have occurred at what seems to be exponential speed.

We are being catapultedinto the technologicallearning age, some of us kicking and screaming!

In recent years online learning has become increasingly common place. The flexibility and convenience of online learning is attractive to nursing students, many who juggle work and family responsibilities in addition to their academic responsibilities. (Halstead, 2005)

While many nursing faculty are skilled at developing courses for the classroom setting, developing or adapting a course for online delivery remains a new experience for most. Faculty who are new to online education are particularly concerned about how to develop an online course that will effectively engage students with the content, promote student-faculty interactions, and foster the critical thinking skills of students without the benefit of face-to-face classroom interaction. (Halstead, 2005)

Numerous studies have shown that what issaid is only 5-7% of the message. The other 93-95% of themessage comes from body language.

As the number of online educational offerings explode in higher education in general, and specifically in nursing, there is increasing concern that the use of the technology is rapidly outpacing the research needed to guide it. (Brownrrig, 2005)

This is a little like putting the cart before the horse.

Despite these drawbacks, there are some important reasons to press on with the use of informatics technology in nursing education

Such asThe nursing shortage is expected to escalate as societyages and the demand for quality health care intensifies. It isestimated that more than 1.2 million new and replacementnurses will be needed by 2014.To meet the projected growth in demand for RN services, the United States must graduate approximately 90% more nurses from U.S. nursing programs.Compounding the problem are university budgetconstraints, an aging faculty, and increasing job competitionfrom the private sector. This has contributed to a shortageof faculty in schools of nursing, making it difficult to expandenrollment levels and educate the nurses needed to meetthe growing demand.(Mancuso-Murphy, 2007)

Informatics is enabling us to:Expand student cohorts geographicallyExpand student cohorts demographicallyExpand student cohorts culturally

The nurse workforce shortage, coupled with a growing need forfaculty, calls for redesign, restructuring, and recognition that the flexibility and availability oftechnology offer nursing education enormous opportunities for innovation.(Neuman, 2006)

From then

To Now........

And in the future

Informatics will play an important role in the way nurses educate and are educated.

ReferencesBrownrigg, V. (2005). Assessment of Web-based learning in nursing: the role of social presence. Retrieved March 18, 2009, from CINAHL with Full Text database.Halstead, J. (2005). Promoting critical thinking through online discussion. Annual Review of Nursing Education, 3, 143-163. Retrieved March 8, 2009, from CINAHL with Full Text database.Mancuso-Murphy, J. (2007, June). Distance education in nursing: an integrated review of online nursing students' experiences with technology-delivered instruction. Journal of Nursing Education, 46(6), 252-260. Retrieved March 18, 2009, from CINAHL with Full Text database.Neuman, L. (2006, 2006 Jan-Feb). Creating new futures in nursing education: envisioning the evolution of e-Nursing education. Nursing Education Perspectives, 27(1), 12-15. Retrieved March 18, 2009, from CINAHL with Full Text database.