All Ireland Society for Higher Education
| Name: | Sheila Counihan |
|---|---|
| Email: | sheila.counihan@nuigalway.ie |
| Institution: | NUI Galway |
Brennan, Miriam, brennanm@nuigalway.ie
Information technology is increasingly being incorporated into nursing and midwifery education programmes (Campbell, et al., 2007). This is in response to the increased dependence of health care organizations on information technology and the ongoing innovations and changes in the provision of educational programmes. In addition, in todays world e-learning may be seen as facilitating educators to deliver a quality service within the constraints in which they work (Ruiz et al,. 2007). Consequently today, electronic learning is greatly supported by those involved in nursing education (Gibbon & Currie, 2007, in press) and online environments are increasingly being used (Campbell, et al., 2007).
Computer based or web based learning adds another dimension to the teaching and learning strategies available to the educator, while at the same time acknowledging the different learning styles of students (Wolf & Kolb, 1984, cited in Fry et al., 2001). While the introduction of such technologies offers a number of benefits for students and educators, there a number of challenges associated with their successful application as identified by Atack and Rankin (2002). It this study it was found that some students had difficulty with web based learning and withdrew from the programme. The problems for the students were "lack of computer skills ... and inadequate preparation for web learning" (p. 457).
Nevertheless Kenny (2002) suggests that while the experience of using information technology to enhance education delivery is a challenge it is crucial in the development of the 'knowledge workers' for the future (p. 133).
The focus of this poster is:
1. To highlight the different learning technologies utilized on undergraduate programmes in the Department of Nursing and Midwifery Studies
2. To identify the benefits and challenges associated with using such technologies.