By Kimberley Ensor, RN, BSN, PHN
Looking
for a new challenge in your nursing journey? Being an online educator may be
the avenue for you.
The American Nurses Association
reports that the nurse shortage is alive and well and with more than 50% of the
nurse force closing in on retirement, a growing population of individuals over the
age of 65 and ever changing healthcare reforms, the need for nurses and health
professionals will increase (ANA, 2014).
With a need for more nurses, this means there will be a need for more
educational resources and options to produce well trained and well prepared
nurses.
Nurse educators are on the brink of
a unique opportunity and if ready for a transition in their career being an
online educator may be just the change they desire. Warning online teaching is nothing like the
days of old, where hairspray, big hair, neon clothes and badly done videos were
the norm. Technology has dramatically
changed and with it the way that students engaging in learning and want to be
taught has also changed. This forum is
not for the faint of heart. Online education
and web based classrooms cannot be regurgitations of the traditional
classroom. Educators must have a new
skill set and an ever increasing awareness of the online environment and the
unprecedented challenges. Educators must
be will and able to engage students and maintain high quality.
In a case study that describes the
experiences of faculty at one institution and the effort to learn about online
teaching, researchers identified six related themes: plugging in; peer sharing;
modeling and community building; multidimensional learning; role-shifting and
meta-learning; paradigm shifting; and sustained momentum (Paulus, Myers, Mixer,
Wyatt, Lee & Lee, 2010). Each of
these recommendations were meant to prepare faculty for the task of teaching
online and ensuring that the quality of nursing education continues.
So you want
to teach online? Prepare to work a
little harder than your traditional faculty counterparts.
So now the question is how to make that
happen. Not having face-to-face
interactions does not give the instructor license to disappear into
cyberspace. Students are looking for
more socialization, a sense of community, and discussions that encourage
critical thinking (Roehm & Bonnel, 2009).
Online faculty will have to not only initiate and facilitate
discussions, but also evaluate what students are learning and the quality
perspectives of the discussion. In a
study done by the National Study of Student Engagement’s where undergraduate
students were surveyed about their online experiences, researchers discovered
that most viewed online courses positively and had more active learning and collaborative
experiences in comparison to classroom based courses (Gallegher, Reilly &
Killion, 2009). Online educators will
have to be cautious of the literature choices, how the class is structured, the
amount of required participation and the technology necessary to have a
successful course. Continuous server
crashes or outdated information will quickly be turned off by a problematic
site. Since distance education is here
to stay and will continue to grow by leaps and bounds, educators must create an
online environment that will increasing reflect the range of issues that permeate
the nursing community at large, pedagogically, ethically, technologically and
philosophically (Gallegher, Reilly & Killion, 2009).
Along with have the evidence based
practices presented, current literature and advanced technology, students are
also looking for instructors who care and exhibit behaviors empathy and concern
in the online environment. Online faculty
also found great success when grade rubrics and electronic grading were used. Student report thorough feedback and clear
indications of availability on when to expect responses to inquiries aided in
convey a caring environment in the online classroom (Mann, 2014).
Finally educators must make sure
they are meeting relevant professional standards. For example the Seven Principles of Good
Practice which include encouraging contact between participants; developing
reciprocity and cooperation; encouraging active learning; giving prompt
feedback; emphasizing time on task; communicating high expectations; and
respecting diverse talents and ways of learning (Paulus, Myers, Mixer, Wyatt,
Lee & Lee, 2010).
Ready to begin
the adventure of online teaching?
So if
you are truly ready to be an online instructor and navigate your way to guiding
and molding the next generation of nursing students here are some things to
consider as you get started:
1.
Make sure to thoroughly investigate the
institution you will teach at. It is
imperative that faculty have support from their institution and that the
curriculum meets all relevant professional standards as well as accreditation.
2.
Faculty must be committed to be life-long
learners. Technology will continue to
change and advance. Current research and
EBP will be necessities as well as nursing literature that is reflective of course
objectives and professional nursing standards.
3.
Feedback, feedback, feedback. Poling of students found that faculty scored
low in areas such as creating a sense of
community, feelings of aloneness, and trepidation when it comes to answering
online questions (Gallegher, Reilly & Killion, 2009). When educators provided thorough and
consistent feedback, students felt validated and supported in their course
work.
4.
Embrace technology. “I ain’t got time for that,” will have to be
excised from the nurse educator’s dialogue and language. The next generation of learners are immersed
in technology and if the online environment is going to engage these students,
faculty will also have to enfold technological advances in their teaching
approach and style. The online
class can occur at any time and at any
place and the instructor must be prepared to answer questions that may be
technology based during the course.
5.
Engage!
No this isn’t Captain Kirk telling the Enterprise to launch into warp,
but online educators will have to make engaging students a regular part of
their course curriculum. When the
instructors seemed more as a guide and facilitator, students found greater
success and interactions in the online environment was increased (Roehm &
Bonnel, 2009 ).
Ready? Set,
Teach!
Okay so
now the moment of truth has arrived. You’ve
worked through what you don’t want to do and made lists of the characteristics
of teachers you did not enjoy while in school and vow not to be like that. Now you must make sure that spend time and
thoroughly know your curriculum
presenting relatable online discussions, current studies and
opportunities for socialization are important components to motivating learners
toward desired goals. A well facilitated
online classroom will provide learners with the opportunity to extend and
enhance their learning
References
American Nurses Association (2014). Nursing Shortage. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/nursingshortage
Gallagher-Lepak, S., Reilly, J., & Killion, C. (2009). Nursing student perceptions of community in online learning. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal For The Australian Nursing Profession, 32(1-2), 133-146. doi:10.5172/conu.32.1-2.133
Levitt, C., & Adelman, D. S. (2010). Role-Playing in Nursing Theory: Engaging Online Students. Journal Of Nursing Education, 49(4), 229-232.
Mann, J. C. (2014). A Pilot Study of RN-BSN Completion Students' Preferred Instructor Online Classroom Caring Behaviors. (Cover story). ABNF Journal, 25(2), 33-39.
Paulus, T., Myers, C., Mixer, S., Wyatt, T., Lee, D., & Lee, J. (2010). For faculty, by faculty: a case study of learning to teach online. International Journal Of Nursing Education Scholarship, 7(1), doi:10.2202/1548-923X.1979
Roehm, S., & Bonnel, W. (2009). Engaging students for learning with online discussions. Teaching & Learning In Nursing, 4(1), 6-9.
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