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Implementing Web-based instruction in a school of nursing: Implications for faculty and students
Implementing Web-Based Instruction in a School of Nursing: Implications for Faculty and Students JUDITH A. HALSTEAD, DNS, RN,* AND NADINE A. COUDRET, EDD, RN†
The World Wide Web, a rich educational resource that can promote and enhance student learning, is increasingly being used in nursing programs to deliver course content. When implementing Web-based instruction into the curriculum, it is essential to consider carefully the implications for faculty and student development needs so that the technology can be efficiently and effectively used to support student learning. Teaching a Web-based course is a new experience for many faculty and requires a reconceptualization of the faculty role. Faculty issues to consider when implementing Web-based instruction include instructional design concerns, faculty-student interactions, time and technology management skills, and student outcome evaluation. Students, especially those who have a preference for faculty-directed classroom learning, also will find student role challenges in Web-based learning. Time and technology management skills, student-faculty interactions, and becoming more selfdirected in their learning are student role development needs. This article describes the strategies used by one school of nursing to meet faculty and student development needs when the RN-BSN completion program was redesigned for Web-based instruction. (Index words: Web-based instruction; Distance education; Student-faculty interactions; RN-BSN education) J Prof Nurs 16:273-281, 2000. Copyright 娀 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company
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OMPUTER-MEDIATED instruction, especially Web-based instruction, increasingly is being used in the health professions for asynchronous delivery of course content to students. The World Wide Web provides a rich resource of health-related information that can be used to promote and enhance student learning. Once thought of primarily as a
*Associate Professor of Nursing, Director, Instructional Services and Resources, School of Nursing and Health Professions, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN. †Professor of Nursing, Dean, School of Nursing and Health Professions, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Ms Halstead: Director, Instructional Services and Resources, School of Nursing and Health Professions, University of Southern Indiana, 8600 University Boulevard, Evansville, IN 47712. Copyright 娀 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company 8755-7223/00/1605-0007$10.00/0 doi:10.1053/jpnu.2000.9459
means to deliver ‘‘distance’’ education, Web-based instruction, usually used in conjunction with e-mail and computer conferencing, is becoming more and more mainstream in higher education. As the use of this technology becomes integrated throughout the curriculum, however, it is essential for administrators and faculty to carefully consider the implications and the impact of the technology on faculty and student roles as well as the teaching-learning process. Teaching a course that is delivered partially or completely on-line via the Web is a new learning experience for many faculty. For faculty who have considerable years of experience with traditional classroom teaching and who gain professional satisfaction through their personal classroom interactions with students, engaging in Web-based instruction requires a reconceptualization of the faculty role. Students, especially if they prefer to rely on the traditional method of faculty-directed learning experiences, likewise will find that the role of the student needs to be redefined when participating in a Web-based course. This article describes the faculty and student development needs that were identified within one school of nursing when Web-based instruction was implemented into the curriculum of the RN-baccalaureate completion program (Table 1). Strategies for addressing these development needs are identified along with student and faculty perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of Web-based instruction. Background of Project
Two driving forces converged in 1996 to move the University of Southern Indiana (USI) School of Nursing & Health Professions undergraduate nursing program to develop and implement Web-based instruction into the curriculum. First, it became apparent to faculty that for health care practitioners to obtain the latest information in health care and to deliver health services via technology such as telehealth, they must have the computer skills necessary to access Internet resources. Patients, too, are using the Internet to seek health care information and answers to their health
Journal of Professional Nursing, Vol 16, No 5 ( September–October), 2000: pp 273-281
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1. Faculty and Student Development Needs for Implementing Web-Based Instruction Faculty Needs
Student Needs
Reconceptualizing the faculty role as a facilitator of student learning
Reconceptualizing the student’s role as an independent and collaborative learner Developing competence with technology Identifying and communicating learning needs to faculty in a timely manner Accepting responsibility for being an active participant in the learning process. Participating effectively in asynchronous collaboration and discussion with peers and faculty Developing time management and organizational skills for on-line learning Seeking feedback to improve performance
Developing competence with technology Converting ‘‘traditional’’ courses to Web-based delivery Fostering student-faculty interactions via electronic communication Facilitating learning through asynchronous on-line discussion Developing time management and course organizational skills for on-line teaching Evaluating student outcomes
questions, frequently presenting this information to their health care providers. Medical, nursing, and other health care–related on-line journals and databases now provide immediate access to research findings and treatment protocols, thus, decreasing the time it takes to disseminate information into practice. Although USI nursing faculty frequently review and revise the undergraduate nursing curriculum, it is obvious that traditional methods of curriculum revision can no longer accommodate the rapid changes occurring in health care. Students in higher education need learning experiences that will help them develop effective critical thinking and communication skills, as well as the ability to seek out information on an on-going basis (Sullivan, 1997). This is especially true for students in the health professions in which knowledge becomes quickly outdated. It is essential that both faculty and students learn how to competently access the resources of the Internet and use computer technology so that they can use these skills in their practice. The second factor that influenced the nursing faculty’s decision to use the Internet to deliver course content is the increasing difficulty that registered nurses are encountering on their return to school to earn their baccalaureate degree. Today’s college students, especially the returning, older student, are demanding access to flexible course scheduling that will allow them to remain in the workforce and meet family responsibilities while returning to school (Sullivan, 1997).
The USI undergraduate nursing program has been involved since 1991 in the delivery of distance education, primarily using a 1-way video, 2-way audio system via satellite to provide nursing courses to registered nurse students in southwestern Indiana. However, a disadvantage of this delivery system is that it requires students to travel weekly to a designated location for class at a specified time. Work schedules that include shift rotations, 12-hour shifts, and mandatory overtime make it very difficult for RNs to commit to regular classroom attendance at a specified time. The use of Web-based instruction provides these students with the flexibility necessary to combine their work and school schedules, allowing them the opportunity to pursue their educational goals. Because of these identified health care changes and the challenges facing students returning to school, faculty decided to incorporate Internet learning activities throughout the nursing curriculum and to redesign the 7 nursing courses that comprise the RN-BSN completion program for Web-based delivery. These courses include both didactic and clinical student learning experiences. Average enrollment in each of the courses ranges from 25 to 40 students. Initial faculty and student reaction to the proposed Web-based delivery project was one of uncertainty. Although all nursing faculty were comfortable using e-mail, few were actively using the Internet for teaching. Faculty did not have experience managing a classroom discussion using computer conferencing software systems. Although Internet home pages had been developed for the nursing program and approximately half of the faculty, this activity had not been extended to include Web pages for any of the nursing courses. There were few, if any, faculty within the university who had experience with Web-based course delivery. The nursing program’s interest in developing an on-line degree completion program represented the university’s first effort at Web-based program delivery. A survey of the nursing student body indicated that though the majority of RN students had experience with e-mail, fewer than half used the Internet regularly, and none of the students had ever enrolled in a Web-based course. It was obvious that both faculty and students would need to acquire new skills in computer technology as the project to implement on-line courses into the curriculum was undertaken. It was also evident that for the project to be successful, faculty and student development needs would have to be identified and addressed.
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Faculty Development Needs
Redesigning a course for Web-based instruction is a new experience for most faculty, and for some, an intimidating challenge. For faculty who receive personal and professional satisfaction from their classroom interactions with students, the thought of teaching on the Web and interacting with students using a keyboard, seems too impersonal to promote satisfying student-faculty interactions. In addition, a fear that coping with the technology will overshadow the course content and negatively affect faculty effectiveness and student learning is a very real and legitimate concern. Specifically addressing these and other issues, such as how to evaluate student learning, can help eliminate some of the anxiety that develops when faculty first enter the world of Web-based instruction. Our experience in implementing Webbased instruction suggests that these issues can be divided primarily into the following 5 categories: instructional design, faculty-student interactions, time management, technology management, and student evaluation. Instructional Design
One of the most important decisions faculty and administrators will need to make is how to convert a course previously taught in the traditional classroom into an on-line format for the Web and how to provide support for these redesign efforts. An assessment of the technical support that faculty need to implement Web-based instruction should be conducted. Options to consider include using university-centered support, academic unit–based support, or having faculty develop and support their own Web-based courses. The option a school chooses should depend on the existing expertise of faculty, financial considerations, workload considerations, and the extent to which Web-based instruction is going to be incorporated into the curriculum. In addition to technical support, faculty also need to determine what support will be available to assist with the instructional design of their Web courses. This too can vary widely. For example, Carlton, Ryan, and Siktberg (1998) described their nursing program’s multidisciplinary approach to designing Internet courses. Although an instructional designer is very helpful in this process, not all faculty and institutions have access to such expertise; lacking such resources and assistance, one can still develop a well-designed Web course. There are currently a number of course
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development and editing software programs on the market that provide templates to aid faculty in course design and eliminate the need for faculty to have much, if any, knowledge of Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) coding or instructional design experience. Our faculty had no knowledge of HTML coding when we began redesigning courses for Web-based delivery. Because of this lack of expertise, our school found it beneficial to employ an individual who had expertise with HTML coding and also could provide both faculty and students with technological support during course implementation. This decision has allowed faculty to continue to focus their energies on the teaching/learning process without undue distraction from technical problems. Since the implementation of Web-based courses into our curriculum, many faculty have developed basic HTML editing skills as their comfort level with the technology has increased, but faculty continue to rely on the skills of the technology support staff whenever they undertake significant course revisions. The full-time availability of a technical support person within our school has been crucial to the success of our distance education programs and the overall faculty and student satisfaction with the development and delivery of the courses. If faculty wish to use a course development software program to help them convert their courses to Webbased delivery, it is advisable to conduct a review of the various software programs available on the market and to talk with faculty who have implemented on-line courses using the programs. There are a variety of advantages, disadvantages, and costs associated with these programs, and faculty should investigate them to determine the best software program for their specific institution’s needs. In our particular situation, we chose to use our own faculty expertise to design and develop a course template that has been used by all courses in the program. Faculty continue to prefer this approach because it affords them maximum flexibility in course design. Generally speaking, a well-designed Web course will clearly identify learning activities and the desired outcomes, and will be logically organized, visually appealing, and easily accessed and navigated. Although content and the desired learning outcomes will certainly influence the choice of course design, there are several considerations that are applicable to all courses and will help achieve these goals, regardless of content. Because we were designing an entire RN-BSN completion program consisting of 7 courses for Web-
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based delivery, and we knew that many of our students were not highly skilled with computers, we decided it was important to be consistent in the design template used across all courses. Because of this consistency between courses, students can easily locate such information as the course syllabus, class schedule, or weekly assignments. Students can transfer acquired knowledge about the overall Web design of the program from course to course and spend more time with the course content and less time navigating the Web site. Roselund, Damask-Bembenek, Hugie, and Matsumura (1999) also have advised keeping the course template simple and consistent for novice users of technology. Adopting a consistent format for presentation of content within a given course is also helpful for students. For example, for each course unit or module, faculty identify pertinent reading assignments and Internet links, study guide and discussion questions, critical thinking applications for the content, and experiential learning activities that will help students apply the knowledge they are learning. Selectively using icons to identify each of these module components helps students to quickly locate the information they are seeking. A Web-based course requires the student to be more self-directed in learning and assertive in seeking clarification, so it is important that faculty expectations be clearly identified. Using a consistent format throughout the course promotes clarity of instruction, allows students to better understand what their responsibilities are in the learning process, and decreases the number of questions that must be asked of the instructor before the student can engage in the learning activity. One of the most logical ways for faculty to begin converting preexisting courses into an on-line format is to ‘‘chunk’’ or organize the course content into weekly units or modules. For some faculty, this approach may differ little from how the course is organized for the classroom. For a Web-based course, however, the content needs to be clearly presented in a manner that helps students identify key course concepts and interact with the material in a more self-directed manner than is usually expected in a classroom setting. It is very important for faculty to resist the temptation of simply placing their weekly lectures onto their course’s Web site. Although selected lecture excerpts may be appropriate, the ‘‘electronic page turning’’ that results from this approach does not promote active student interaction with the material and usually results in a dreadfully boring course. Identifying and creating Internet links to Web sites
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that are related to course content, selecting graphics to show concepts, and developing learning activities that require further student exploration of the content are examples of techniques that can be used to engage the student’s attention. If faculty determine that it is necessary for large amounts of text to be presented on a Web site, thought should be given to how the content can be presented in a visually appealing manner and enhanced through the use of selected Web links. It may be more suitable at times to simply provide students with hard copies of selected course materials or direct the students to use their text and reserve the use of the Web for more interactive learning activities. Seeking feedback from colleagues about the course design while the course is being developed is important and will provide valuable guidance to further course development. Feedback should be sought from colleagues who are experts in the course’s content as well as those who are not. Input from students who previously took the course in class also provides excellent feedback from a student perspective. It is highly desirable to have the course completely developed and on-line before actually implementing instruction. Course integrity and organization is more likely to be ensured if the faculty has developed the entire course and clearly identified the desired learning outcomes before engaging in course delivery. This approach also allows students to anticipate future course workload commitments and to work ahead, if desired, at a pace that best fits their needs. From a student’s perspective, this is a major advantage of Web-based courses. Faculty-Student Interactions
When designing a course, it is important for faculty to determine how they will foster student-faculty and student-student interactions because they will not be meeting weekly with students in the classroom. Electronic communication can be used to promote interaction in a number of ways. USI nursing faculty use a combination of computer conference discussion, email, and focused discussion using a listserv to facilitate communication between students and faculty. Each type of technology provides a different format of communication for the course. Computer conferencing software allows for asynchronous, open discussion of course content on the Web. Individual conference ‘‘rooms’’ or topics can be devoted to a selected course topic for discussion. Faculty and students post comments to the appropri-
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ate conference topic for all course members to read and respond to, thus, fostering on-going discussion. To initially get on-line discussions started, faculty will need to be very explicit about discussion participation requirements. In the majority of USI Web-based nursing courses, weekly participation in discussion is expected with part of the course grade derived from points earned through such participation. For many students, asynchronous classroom discussion is a novel experience and they may initially need some encouragement to express their comments in writing. Specific assignments structured to include on-line discussion can help promote this involvement. For example, asking students to select and share an incident from their own nursing practice that shows the concept currently under discussion will frequently generate interesting and meaningful dialogue among students as they compare experiences. As another example, some students can be assigned to problem solve and post answers to a case study assignment while other students are asked to analyze and critique the postings, thus, fostering critical thinking skills and practice in providing constructive feedback. Throughout the semester, each student can be given the opportunity to experience each role. Students can also be assigned to be discussion leaders or summarizers for the week’s discussion. As students become comfortable with this method of communication, on-line discussion will proliferate without much additional faculty prompting. It is important for faculty to realize that they do not need to dominate the discussion or personally respond to all student postings. Faculty need to develop skill in keeping the discussion pertinent to the topic, helping students identify key concepts within the threads of discussion, summarizing the discussion and providing closure to a topic, and moving the students on to the next topic to be studied. A key component to meaningful asynchronous discussion is for faculty to design learning activities that require students to contribute postings that are not repetitive of other student’s comments, but rather build on each other’s comments. E-mail is used for private communication between students and faculty. The use of a course listserv provides all members of the class with a way to send information or request information from the entire class at once. Announcements pertinent to all members of the course, but that do not necessarily require on-going discussion (e.g., a reminder that an assigned paper is due in 1 week) is the type of information that can be easily conveyed via a listserv.
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Relying on computer-mediated communication for instructional purposes is a new experience for most faculty and students, and initially may appear to be impersonal and promote lack of participation in the course. In actuality, however, our experience suggests that students are more likely to participate in computermediated discussion and initiate communication with faculty than when they are in the classroom setting. Computer-mediated communication tends to break down barriers that are fostered by a student’s lack of self-confidence and can help prevent a few students from dominating the discussion. More collegial communication between faculty and students can develop because each has an equal opportunity to participate in the discussion (Halstead, Hayes, Reising, & Billings, 1995). Other faculty also have found that students report an increased willingness to ask questions or disagree with the instructor when engaged in on-line dialogue (Thiele, Allen, & Stucky, 1999). Regardless of the technology used for course communication, it is important for faculty to answer student questions in a timely manner. Students feel more individually connected to the faculty and the course when they receive timely responses to their questions. Also, student satisfaction with Web-based courses greatly improves when they perceive they have adequate access to faculty. To provide such access, it is suggested that faculty establish weekly electronic office hours when they will be available to promptly answer questions via e-mail. Telephone office hours can also be established so that students can call faculty directly. USI nursing faculty have found that holding a select number of class meetings (3 to 4) throughout the semester, either on-campus or using video/audio conferencing, helps meet the learning style needs of some students who prefer ‘‘real-time’’ interactions. Time-Management Skills
Faculty engaged in Web-based instruction will likely find it necessary to reevaluate and refine their time-management skills. When teaching a traditional course, faculty usually interact with students during established office hours, before and after class, and, of course, during scheduled class meetings. On-line courses allow students to communicate with faculty 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and this is exactly what they do. Faculty, who can no longer easily compartmentalize their course and student contact within an established time frame, can find themselves inundated with e-mail messages and computer conference discussions to manage. Faculty should anticipate spending
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more time teaching an on-line course and interacting with students than they would for the same course in the classroom. On-line courses do, however, provide a measure of flexibility for faculty that the classroom does not, in that faculty can choose the time and place when they will respond to student questions and comments. It is important for faculty to decide early in the course how they are going to organize the e-mail and electronically submitted assignments they will receive from students throughout the semester. Many of our faculty have found it helpful to develop individual e-mail folders for each student enrolled in their course, thus, allowing them to easily file and retrieve each student’s work at their convenience. The use of a course listserv also can facilitate quick communication to all class members and save faculty time. Managing asynchronous Web discussion is another time-management consideration. It is not reasonable or desirable for faculty to think that they will need to provide individual responses to all the discussion comments that students post. Instead, the most effective faculty responses are designed to move the discussion to the next level of analysis, introduce information that students may be overlooking, provide constructive feedback, and help summarize key discussion points. It is usually not necessary to monitor course discussion on a daily basis to accomplish these goals. Depending on the pace of the course and the number of students, faculty may find that reviewing Web discussions every 2 to 3 days provides ample opportunity to identify emerging discussion threads and provide timely responses. Developing learning activities that require students to work in groups, not only promotes collaborative learning among students, but can also reduce the amount of dialogue faculty will need to read. Establishing a regular weekly schedule for keeping up to date with course communication can help prevent feeling overwhelmed by the demands of an on-line course and also is helpful to students. Course enrollment numbers will certainly affect faculty time and workload, and faculty and administrators must cautiously examine the impact of enrollment on the quality of their educational efforts. There are some misconceptions that the use of Web-based course delivery can allow institutions to increase student enrollment in such courses and increase tuition revenue. This has not been our experience. Because teaching a Web-based course typically increases the amount of time faculty will spend in
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interaction with students, increasing student enrollment increases faculty workload even more and, ultimately, affects the quality of instruction as well as student satisfaction. Some courses may even require a reduction in enrollment to achieve satisfactory outcomes. Although the enrollment in our Web-based nursing courses continues to range from 25 to 40 students, which was the enrollment before implementation of Web-based delivery, faculty and administration remain sensitive to continually evaluating the relationship between enrollment numbers and instructional quality.
Technology Management
Managing the technology required for a Web-based course can be time demanding and frustrating, but is essential to the successful implementation of an on-line course. Faculty attitude toward technology is very important to the success of the course as well. Faculty who are easily frustrated or overwhelmed with technology and who believe that there is only 1 way to teach and learn are probably not the best choice for involvement in Web-based instruction. Given the unpredictability of the Internet and computers in general, and the wide variation in hardware that students will use to access the course, it can be guaranteed that technical problems will develop during the course. Faculty will certainly need campus technical computer support to successfully implement and deliver a Web-based course. Faculty can best handle technical difficulties by proactively anticipating that frustrations will occur, and developing alternate student learning activities for use when technical problems do develop. Faculty also should anticipate that the first 2 to 3 weeks of the course will probably require as much attention to technology management as they will to course content. Faculty may want to design the learning activities for the first couple of weeks of the course with this in mind, placing more demanding assignments later in the course. Students can become overwhelmed quickly as they try to cope with technical difficulties at the same time they are trying to learn large amounts of new material. The challenges of technology are predictably less for students and faculty who have prior experience with Web-based instruction. Consistency of instruction design and Web page format also lessens technology-related problems for students enrolled in a Web-based degree program.
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Student Evaluation
Evaluating student outcomes can take on new challenges when the students are geographically dispersed and not present in the classroom with faculty when tests are administered. Issues of test security and ensuring the validity of a student’s work can be significant. USI nursing faculty have explored various options for administering examinations. Many faculty have continued to administer tests in the traditional classroom manner with proctors being used for students who are distant from campus. Test proctors may be either faculty or student selected. Student-selected proctors are subject to faculty approval. Others use take-home, open-book essay tests when that method is appropriate for the course content. Faculty also must consider how they will conduct test reviews and distribute test grades. There are various course management software programs that allow students to access their course grades at their convenience. In the fall of 1999, some faculty began implementing on-line testing in their courses. Tests are posted on the Web at a predetermined time and students must access the test when it is available. Previous to taking the test, students are asked to read and sign a statement agreeing to follow the university honor code regarding cheating. During the testing time period, both a technical support person and the course faculty are available to answer any questions that may develop. Test results are submitted directly to a database for analysis by faculty. As faculty gain further experience with this method of testing, we anticipate that on-line testing will become the method of choice for our program. Student Development Needs
Enrolling in a Web course is still a new experience for many students. Students find that in addition to learning how to manage the technology, they need to be more self-directed in identifying their learning needs and seeking faculty feedback. Developing timemanagement skills also may represent a challenge. Some students miss the regular face-to-face interaction with faculty and peers and the structure that such interactions provide. They also may experience a sense of isolation and separation from the institution. USI nursing faculty have developed a number of strategies that are designed to help students adjust to the demands of a Web-based course and hopefully lessen potential student frustration, especially for those students who are not adept at using computers. Some of
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these strategies are implemented before the courses are taught and some are implemented during the teaching of the course. Precourse Activities
Each faculty member sends a letter to students registered for their Web-based course approximately 3 to 4 weeks before the beginning of the course so that students can be made aware of technology requirements. This letter describes for students the minimum computer hardware requirements necessary to successfully access the courses they are enrolled in as well as the need for Internet access and an e-mail address. Although this information is included in the school’s student handbooks, we have found it helpful to periodically remind students of these requirements. Students are informed of any planned class meeting dates so that they can plan their schedules, and the phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and fax numbers of faculty and technical support staff are provided. The importance of time-management skills, self-direction, and flexibility also are emphasized. This letter has been so useful to students that it has become a standard requirement for all of our Internet courses. Optional technology-orientation sessions are held each semester the week before and during the first week of classes. These orientation sessions provide students with an introduction to the Internet, their course, and the computer conferencing software that the nursing program uses. Listservs and e-mail also are discussed when appropriate. An instructional technology guide that students can use as a reference throughout the semester has been developed and is distributed to all nursing students enrolled in a Web-based course. It also is available on-line on the school’s distance learning Web site and through an instructional CD that can be mailed to geographically distant students. During the Course
A ‘‘help desk’’ conference room is established on the computer conferencing board so that students may post questions and ask for help throughout the semester as technology problems arise. The ‘‘help desk’’ is monitored daily during the week by support staff within the school so that students can receive a prompt response to their questions. By posting answers in this public conference room, other students also can read and hopefully benefit from the information. This ‘‘help-desk’’ has been useful to faculty who can then focus on the teaching-learning process, knowing that the technical questions are being
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promptly dealt with by the technology support staff. Students always have the option of telephoning the support staff as well when they have questions or technical problems. Faculty also have found it useful to initially set specific deadlines for responses and assignments from students. By establishing a weekly assignment schedule, faculty can help students adjust within a given time frame to the relative flexibility of a Web-based course. Students who are not used to being selfmotivated in their studies or who are not well organized benefit from these deadlines because they can quickly become overwhelmed and forced to withdraw from the course if they do not keep up with the course work. This usually becomes less of a problem for most students as they adjust to the format of Web-based instruction. It also is important for faculty to actively ‘‘seek-out’’ students in the first weeks of the course, especially when they identify an individual student who is not participating in discussion exercises or submitting assignments. Lack of participation usually occurs for 2 reasons: the student feels isolated and lacks the self-direction necessary for a Web-based course, or the technology is overwhelming the student. In either case, early recognition and assistance from the faculty can determine whether or not the student will ultimately be successful in the course. Some students may need to be encouraged to initiate contact with faculty. Requiring students to identify personal learning goals for the course and e-mailing these to faculty during the first week of the course may help ‘‘break the ice’’ and give faculty information that can be used to begin building a relationship with individual students. Timely feedback from faculty is essential to promoting student satisfaction with a Web-based course. This is especially important during the first couple of weeks in the course when students are most likely to have questions. Prompt responses to e-mail communication, ready availability through e-mail and/or phone office hours, clarity of instructions and expectations, and prompt acknowledgment of assignments received from students are positive faculty practices that have been identified by our students as being most helpful to them. It is useful for students to have the opportunity to formatively and summatively evaluate the course, especially during the initial offerings of the course on the Web. Formative evaluation will provide faculty with feedback that can be used to modify the course as
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2. Student-Perceived Advantages and Disadvantages of Web-Based Instruction Advantages
Disadvantages
Increased time flexibility Improved computer skills Decreased travel time to class Increased access to information Self-paced, independent learning
Frustrated by technology difficulties Decreased contact with faculty and peers Increased time demands for course work Increased need for self-discipline Increased course costs related to technology
necessary to better meet the students’ learning needs. In addition to evaluating course content and learning activities, students should have the opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the technical support available to them as well as the design and accessibility of the course Web pages. Project Outcomes
The perceived advantages and disadvantages to Web-based instruction vary depending on individualized student and faculty preferred learning and teaching styles, comfort with technology, and available administrative support services. Tables 2 and 3 have a summary of these identified advantages and disadvantages. Students have identified the major benefits of Web-based instruction to include increased flexibility, improved computer skills, decreased travel time, increased access to information, and self-paced, independent learning. Some of the disadvantages cited by students include technology difficulties, decreased contact with faculty and peers, increased time demands, the need for self-discipline, and the cost of the technology to take the course. Faculty-cited advantages include flexibility, ready access to information on TABLE
3. Faculty-Perceived Advantages and Disadvantages of Web-Based Instruction Advantages
Disadvantages
Increased time flexibility Increased access to course related ‘‘cutting edge’’ information Increased frequency of communication with individual students Increased frequency and depth of student contributions to class discussion
Frustrated by technology difficulties Increased time demands for teaching course Lack of personal ‘‘face-toface’’ contact with students in classroom
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the Web, and increased frequency and depth of student communication and class discussion. Facultyidentified disadvantages include technology difficulties, increased time spent teaching the course, and lack of personal contact with students, even though faculty acknowledge that the use of the computer seems to allow some students a means to more freely express themselves. Learning outcomes of USI Web-based nursing courses as measured by course test scores have equaled or exceeded traditionally taught course scores. This is consistent with Russell’s (1999) results posted on a North Carolina State University Web site dedicated to reporting distance education research outcomes. Students enrolled in Web-based courses also experience a more independent, self-directed approach to learning than students in traditional courses. This is consistent with life-long professional learning. The increased Internet knowledge and skills gained by students
enrolled in Web-based courses are desirable learning outcomes for professionals who will practice in the new millennium. As Web-based instruction and technology sophistication grow, the disadvantages of Web-based instruction will lessen. The need for increased student access to advanced practice nursing degree programs and specialized professional education support further development of Web-based instruction. Positive student learning outcomes will increase as new technology provides opportunities for increased interactive on-line learning and as faculty gain expertise in facilitating on-line teaching. The time and resources to support student and faculty success in using Web-based instruction is an investment in the future of nursing and quality health care. Readers may visit the University of Southern Indiana School of Nursing and Health Professions’ Web site at http://www.health.usi.edu.
References Carlton, K. H., Ryan, M. E., & Siktberg, L. L. (1998). Designing courses for the internet: A conceptual approach. Nurse Educator, 23, 45-50. Halstead, J., Hayes, R., Reising, D., & Billings, D. (1995). Nursing student information network: Fostering collegial communications using a computer conference. Computers in Nursing, 13, 55-59. Roselund, C., Damask-Bembenek, B., Hugie, P., & Matsumura, G. (1999). The development of online courses for undergraduate nursing education: A faculty perspective. Nursing and Health Care Perspectives, 20, 194-198.
Russell, T. L. (ed.). (1999). No significant differences. Website of Office of Instructional Telecommunications. North Carolina State University [On-line]. Available: http:// teleducation.nb.ca/nosignificantdifferences/ Sullivan, E. J. (1997). A changing higher education environment. Journal of Professional Nursing, 13, 143-148. Thiele, J. E., Allen, C., & Stucky, M. (1999). Effects of Web-based instruction on learning behaviors of undergraduate and graduate students. Nursing and Health Care Perspectives, 20, 199-203.
The World Wide Web, a rich educational resource that can promote and enhance student learning, is increasingly being used in nursing programs to deliver course content. When implementing Web-based instruction into the curriculum, it is essential to consider carefully the implications for faculty and student development needs so that the technology can be efficiently and effectively used to support student learning. Teaching a Web-based course is a new experience for many faculty and requires a reconceptualization of the faculty role. Faculty issues to consider when implementing Web-based instruction include instructional design concerns, faculty-student interactions, time and technology management skills, and student outcome evaluation. Students, especially those who have a preference for faculty-directed classroom learning, also will find student role challenges in Web-based learning. Time and technology management skills, student-faculty interactions, and becoming more selfdirected in their learning are student role development needs. This article describes the strategies used by one school of nursing to meet faculty and student development needs when the RN-BSN completion program was redesigned for Web-based instruction. (Index words: Web-based instruction; Distance education; Student-faculty interactions; RN-BSN education) J Prof Nurs 16:273-281, 2000. Copyright 娀 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company
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OMPUTER-MEDIATED instruction, especially Web-based instruction, increasingly is being used in the health professions for asynchronous delivery of course content to students. The World Wide Web provides a rich resource of health-related information that can be used to promote and enhance student learning. Once thought of primarily as a
*Associate Professor of Nursing, Director, Instructional Services and Resources, School of Nursing and Health Professions, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN. †Professor of Nursing, Dean, School of Nursing and Health Professions, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Ms Halstead: Director, Instructional Services and Resources, School of Nursing and Health Professions, University of Southern Indiana, 8600 University Boulevard, Evansville, IN 47712. Copyright 娀 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company 8755-7223/00/1605-0007$10.00/0 doi:10.1053/jpnu.2000.9459
means to deliver ‘‘distance’’ education, Web-based instruction, usually used in conjunction with e-mail and computer conferencing, is becoming more and more mainstream in higher education. As the use of this technology becomes integrated throughout the curriculum, however, it is essential for administrators and faculty to carefully consider the implications and the impact of the technology on faculty and student roles as well as the teaching-learning process. Teaching a course that is delivered partially or completely on-line via the Web is a new learning experience for many faculty. For faculty who have considerable years of experience with traditional classroom teaching and who gain professional satisfaction through their personal classroom interactions with students, engaging in Web-based instruction requires a reconceptualization of the faculty role. Students, especially if they prefer to rely on the traditional method of faculty-directed learning experiences, likewise will find that the role of the student needs to be redefined when participating in a Web-based course. This article describes the faculty and student development needs that were identified within one school of nursing when Web-based instruction was implemented into the curriculum of the RN-baccalaureate completion program (Table 1). Strategies for addressing these development needs are identified along with student and faculty perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of Web-based instruction. Background of Project
Two driving forces converged in 1996 to move the University of Southern Indiana (USI) School of Nursing & Health Professions undergraduate nursing program to develop and implement Web-based instruction into the curriculum. First, it became apparent to faculty that for health care practitioners to obtain the latest information in health care and to deliver health services via technology such as telehealth, they must have the computer skills necessary to access Internet resources. Patients, too, are using the Internet to seek health care information and answers to their health
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1. Faculty and Student Development Needs for Implementing Web-Based Instruction Faculty Needs
Student Needs
Reconceptualizing the faculty role as a facilitator of student learning
Reconceptualizing the student’s role as an independent and collaborative learner Developing competence with technology Identifying and communicating learning needs to faculty in a timely manner Accepting responsibility for being an active participant in the learning process. Participating effectively in asynchronous collaboration and discussion with peers and faculty Developing time management and organizational skills for on-line learning Seeking feedback to improve performance
Developing competence with technology Converting ‘‘traditional’’ courses to Web-based delivery Fostering student-faculty interactions via electronic communication Facilitating learning through asynchronous on-line discussion Developing time management and course organizational skills for on-line teaching Evaluating student outcomes
questions, frequently presenting this information to their health care providers. Medical, nursing, and other health care–related on-line journals and databases now provide immediate access to research findings and treatment protocols, thus, decreasing the time it takes to disseminate information into practice. Although USI nursing faculty frequently review and revise the undergraduate nursing curriculum, it is obvious that traditional methods of curriculum revision can no longer accommodate the rapid changes occurring in health care. Students in higher education need learning experiences that will help them develop effective critical thinking and communication skills, as well as the ability to seek out information on an on-going basis (Sullivan, 1997). This is especially true for students in the health professions in which knowledge becomes quickly outdated. It is essential that both faculty and students learn how to competently access the resources of the Internet and use computer technology so that they can use these skills in their practice. The second factor that influenced the nursing faculty’s decision to use the Internet to deliver course content is the increasing difficulty that registered nurses are encountering on their return to school to earn their baccalaureate degree. Today’s college students, especially the returning, older student, are demanding access to flexible course scheduling that will allow them to remain in the workforce and meet family responsibilities while returning to school (Sullivan, 1997).
The USI undergraduate nursing program has been involved since 1991 in the delivery of distance education, primarily using a 1-way video, 2-way audio system via satellite to provide nursing courses to registered nurse students in southwestern Indiana. However, a disadvantage of this delivery system is that it requires students to travel weekly to a designated location for class at a specified time. Work schedules that include shift rotations, 12-hour shifts, and mandatory overtime make it very difficult for RNs to commit to regular classroom attendance at a specified time. The use of Web-based instruction provides these students with the flexibility necessary to combine their work and school schedules, allowing them the opportunity to pursue their educational goals. Because of these identified health care changes and the challenges facing students returning to school, faculty decided to incorporate Internet learning activities throughout the nursing curriculum and to redesign the 7 nursing courses that comprise the RN-BSN completion program for Web-based delivery. These courses include both didactic and clinical student learning experiences. Average enrollment in each of the courses ranges from 25 to 40 students. Initial faculty and student reaction to the proposed Web-based delivery project was one of uncertainty. Although all nursing faculty were comfortable using e-mail, few were actively using the Internet for teaching. Faculty did not have experience managing a classroom discussion using computer conferencing software systems. Although Internet home pages had been developed for the nursing program and approximately half of the faculty, this activity had not been extended to include Web pages for any of the nursing courses. There were few, if any, faculty within the university who had experience with Web-based course delivery. The nursing program’s interest in developing an on-line degree completion program represented the university’s first effort at Web-based program delivery. A survey of the nursing student body indicated that though the majority of RN students had experience with e-mail, fewer than half used the Internet regularly, and none of the students had ever enrolled in a Web-based course. It was obvious that both faculty and students would need to acquire new skills in computer technology as the project to implement on-line courses into the curriculum was undertaken. It was also evident that for the project to be successful, faculty and student development needs would have to be identified and addressed.
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Faculty Development Needs
Redesigning a course for Web-based instruction is a new experience for most faculty, and for some, an intimidating challenge. For faculty who receive personal and professional satisfaction from their classroom interactions with students, the thought of teaching on the Web and interacting with students using a keyboard, seems too impersonal to promote satisfying student-faculty interactions. In addition, a fear that coping with the technology will overshadow the course content and negatively affect faculty effectiveness and student learning is a very real and legitimate concern. Specifically addressing these and other issues, such as how to evaluate student learning, can help eliminate some of the anxiety that develops when faculty first enter the world of Web-based instruction. Our experience in implementing Webbased instruction suggests that these issues can be divided primarily into the following 5 categories: instructional design, faculty-student interactions, time management, technology management, and student evaluation. Instructional Design
One of the most important decisions faculty and administrators will need to make is how to convert a course previously taught in the traditional classroom into an on-line format for the Web and how to provide support for these redesign efforts. An assessment of the technical support that faculty need to implement Web-based instruction should be conducted. Options to consider include using university-centered support, academic unit–based support, or having faculty develop and support their own Web-based courses. The option a school chooses should depend on the existing expertise of faculty, financial considerations, workload considerations, and the extent to which Web-based instruction is going to be incorporated into the curriculum. In addition to technical support, faculty also need to determine what support will be available to assist with the instructional design of their Web courses. This too can vary widely. For example, Carlton, Ryan, and Siktberg (1998) described their nursing program’s multidisciplinary approach to designing Internet courses. Although an instructional designer is very helpful in this process, not all faculty and institutions have access to such expertise; lacking such resources and assistance, one can still develop a well-designed Web course. There are currently a number of course
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development and editing software programs on the market that provide templates to aid faculty in course design and eliminate the need for faculty to have much, if any, knowledge of Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) coding or instructional design experience. Our faculty had no knowledge of HTML coding when we began redesigning courses for Web-based delivery. Because of this lack of expertise, our school found it beneficial to employ an individual who had expertise with HTML coding and also could provide both faculty and students with technological support during course implementation. This decision has allowed faculty to continue to focus their energies on the teaching/learning process without undue distraction from technical problems. Since the implementation of Web-based courses into our curriculum, many faculty have developed basic HTML editing skills as their comfort level with the technology has increased, but faculty continue to rely on the skills of the technology support staff whenever they undertake significant course revisions. The full-time availability of a technical support person within our school has been crucial to the success of our distance education programs and the overall faculty and student satisfaction with the development and delivery of the courses. If faculty wish to use a course development software program to help them convert their courses to Webbased delivery, it is advisable to conduct a review of the various software programs available on the market and to talk with faculty who have implemented on-line courses using the programs. There are a variety of advantages, disadvantages, and costs associated with these programs, and faculty should investigate them to determine the best software program for their specific institution’s needs. In our particular situation, we chose to use our own faculty expertise to design and develop a course template that has been used by all courses in the program. Faculty continue to prefer this approach because it affords them maximum flexibility in course design. Generally speaking, a well-designed Web course will clearly identify learning activities and the desired outcomes, and will be logically organized, visually appealing, and easily accessed and navigated. Although content and the desired learning outcomes will certainly influence the choice of course design, there are several considerations that are applicable to all courses and will help achieve these goals, regardless of content. Because we were designing an entire RN-BSN completion program consisting of 7 courses for Web-
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based delivery, and we knew that many of our students were not highly skilled with computers, we decided it was important to be consistent in the design template used across all courses. Because of this consistency between courses, students can easily locate such information as the course syllabus, class schedule, or weekly assignments. Students can transfer acquired knowledge about the overall Web design of the program from course to course and spend more time with the course content and less time navigating the Web site. Roselund, Damask-Bembenek, Hugie, and Matsumura (1999) also have advised keeping the course template simple and consistent for novice users of technology. Adopting a consistent format for presentation of content within a given course is also helpful for students. For example, for each course unit or module, faculty identify pertinent reading assignments and Internet links, study guide and discussion questions, critical thinking applications for the content, and experiential learning activities that will help students apply the knowledge they are learning. Selectively using icons to identify each of these module components helps students to quickly locate the information they are seeking. A Web-based course requires the student to be more self-directed in learning and assertive in seeking clarification, so it is important that faculty expectations be clearly identified. Using a consistent format throughout the course promotes clarity of instruction, allows students to better understand what their responsibilities are in the learning process, and decreases the number of questions that must be asked of the instructor before the student can engage in the learning activity. One of the most logical ways for faculty to begin converting preexisting courses into an on-line format is to ‘‘chunk’’ or organize the course content into weekly units or modules. For some faculty, this approach may differ little from how the course is organized for the classroom. For a Web-based course, however, the content needs to be clearly presented in a manner that helps students identify key course concepts and interact with the material in a more self-directed manner than is usually expected in a classroom setting. It is very important for faculty to resist the temptation of simply placing their weekly lectures onto their course’s Web site. Although selected lecture excerpts may be appropriate, the ‘‘electronic page turning’’ that results from this approach does not promote active student interaction with the material and usually results in a dreadfully boring course. Identifying and creating Internet links to Web sites
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that are related to course content, selecting graphics to show concepts, and developing learning activities that require further student exploration of the content are examples of techniques that can be used to engage the student’s attention. If faculty determine that it is necessary for large amounts of text to be presented on a Web site, thought should be given to how the content can be presented in a visually appealing manner and enhanced through the use of selected Web links. It may be more suitable at times to simply provide students with hard copies of selected course materials or direct the students to use their text and reserve the use of the Web for more interactive learning activities. Seeking feedback from colleagues about the course design while the course is being developed is important and will provide valuable guidance to further course development. Feedback should be sought from colleagues who are experts in the course’s content as well as those who are not. Input from students who previously took the course in class also provides excellent feedback from a student perspective. It is highly desirable to have the course completely developed and on-line before actually implementing instruction. Course integrity and organization is more likely to be ensured if the faculty has developed the entire course and clearly identified the desired learning outcomes before engaging in course delivery. This approach also allows students to anticipate future course workload commitments and to work ahead, if desired, at a pace that best fits their needs. From a student’s perspective, this is a major advantage of Web-based courses. Faculty-Student Interactions
When designing a course, it is important for faculty to determine how they will foster student-faculty and student-student interactions because they will not be meeting weekly with students in the classroom. Electronic communication can be used to promote interaction in a number of ways. USI nursing faculty use a combination of computer conference discussion, email, and focused discussion using a listserv to facilitate communication between students and faculty. Each type of technology provides a different format of communication for the course. Computer conferencing software allows for asynchronous, open discussion of course content on the Web. Individual conference ‘‘rooms’’ or topics can be devoted to a selected course topic for discussion. Faculty and students post comments to the appropri-
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ate conference topic for all course members to read and respond to, thus, fostering on-going discussion. To initially get on-line discussions started, faculty will need to be very explicit about discussion participation requirements. In the majority of USI Web-based nursing courses, weekly participation in discussion is expected with part of the course grade derived from points earned through such participation. For many students, asynchronous classroom discussion is a novel experience and they may initially need some encouragement to express their comments in writing. Specific assignments structured to include on-line discussion can help promote this involvement. For example, asking students to select and share an incident from their own nursing practice that shows the concept currently under discussion will frequently generate interesting and meaningful dialogue among students as they compare experiences. As another example, some students can be assigned to problem solve and post answers to a case study assignment while other students are asked to analyze and critique the postings, thus, fostering critical thinking skills and practice in providing constructive feedback. Throughout the semester, each student can be given the opportunity to experience each role. Students can also be assigned to be discussion leaders or summarizers for the week’s discussion. As students become comfortable with this method of communication, on-line discussion will proliferate without much additional faculty prompting. It is important for faculty to realize that they do not need to dominate the discussion or personally respond to all student postings. Faculty need to develop skill in keeping the discussion pertinent to the topic, helping students identify key concepts within the threads of discussion, summarizing the discussion and providing closure to a topic, and moving the students on to the next topic to be studied. A key component to meaningful asynchronous discussion is for faculty to design learning activities that require students to contribute postings that are not repetitive of other student’s comments, but rather build on each other’s comments. E-mail is used for private communication between students and faculty. The use of a course listserv provides all members of the class with a way to send information or request information from the entire class at once. Announcements pertinent to all members of the course, but that do not necessarily require on-going discussion (e.g., a reminder that an assigned paper is due in 1 week) is the type of information that can be easily conveyed via a listserv.
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Relying on computer-mediated communication for instructional purposes is a new experience for most faculty and students, and initially may appear to be impersonal and promote lack of participation in the course. In actuality, however, our experience suggests that students are more likely to participate in computermediated discussion and initiate communication with faculty than when they are in the classroom setting. Computer-mediated communication tends to break down barriers that are fostered by a student’s lack of self-confidence and can help prevent a few students from dominating the discussion. More collegial communication between faculty and students can develop because each has an equal opportunity to participate in the discussion (Halstead, Hayes, Reising, & Billings, 1995). Other faculty also have found that students report an increased willingness to ask questions or disagree with the instructor when engaged in on-line dialogue (Thiele, Allen, & Stucky, 1999). Regardless of the technology used for course communication, it is important for faculty to answer student questions in a timely manner. Students feel more individually connected to the faculty and the course when they receive timely responses to their questions. Also, student satisfaction with Web-based courses greatly improves when they perceive they have adequate access to faculty. To provide such access, it is suggested that faculty establish weekly electronic office hours when they will be available to promptly answer questions via e-mail. Telephone office hours can also be established so that students can call faculty directly. USI nursing faculty have found that holding a select number of class meetings (3 to 4) throughout the semester, either on-campus or using video/audio conferencing, helps meet the learning style needs of some students who prefer ‘‘real-time’’ interactions. Time-Management Skills
Faculty engaged in Web-based instruction will likely find it necessary to reevaluate and refine their time-management skills. When teaching a traditional course, faculty usually interact with students during established office hours, before and after class, and, of course, during scheduled class meetings. On-line courses allow students to communicate with faculty 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and this is exactly what they do. Faculty, who can no longer easily compartmentalize their course and student contact within an established time frame, can find themselves inundated with e-mail messages and computer conference discussions to manage. Faculty should anticipate spending
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more time teaching an on-line course and interacting with students than they would for the same course in the classroom. On-line courses do, however, provide a measure of flexibility for faculty that the classroom does not, in that faculty can choose the time and place when they will respond to student questions and comments. It is important for faculty to decide early in the course how they are going to organize the e-mail and electronically submitted assignments they will receive from students throughout the semester. Many of our faculty have found it helpful to develop individual e-mail folders for each student enrolled in their course, thus, allowing them to easily file and retrieve each student’s work at their convenience. The use of a course listserv also can facilitate quick communication to all class members and save faculty time. Managing asynchronous Web discussion is another time-management consideration. It is not reasonable or desirable for faculty to think that they will need to provide individual responses to all the discussion comments that students post. Instead, the most effective faculty responses are designed to move the discussion to the next level of analysis, introduce information that students may be overlooking, provide constructive feedback, and help summarize key discussion points. It is usually not necessary to monitor course discussion on a daily basis to accomplish these goals. Depending on the pace of the course and the number of students, faculty may find that reviewing Web discussions every 2 to 3 days provides ample opportunity to identify emerging discussion threads and provide timely responses. Developing learning activities that require students to work in groups, not only promotes collaborative learning among students, but can also reduce the amount of dialogue faculty will need to read. Establishing a regular weekly schedule for keeping up to date with course communication can help prevent feeling overwhelmed by the demands of an on-line course and also is helpful to students. Course enrollment numbers will certainly affect faculty time and workload, and faculty and administrators must cautiously examine the impact of enrollment on the quality of their educational efforts. There are some misconceptions that the use of Web-based course delivery can allow institutions to increase student enrollment in such courses and increase tuition revenue. This has not been our experience. Because teaching a Web-based course typically increases the amount of time faculty will spend in
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interaction with students, increasing student enrollment increases faculty workload even more and, ultimately, affects the quality of instruction as well as student satisfaction. Some courses may even require a reduction in enrollment to achieve satisfactory outcomes. Although the enrollment in our Web-based nursing courses continues to range from 25 to 40 students, which was the enrollment before implementation of Web-based delivery, faculty and administration remain sensitive to continually evaluating the relationship between enrollment numbers and instructional quality.
Technology Management
Managing the technology required for a Web-based course can be time demanding and frustrating, but is essential to the successful implementation of an on-line course. Faculty attitude toward technology is very important to the success of the course as well. Faculty who are easily frustrated or overwhelmed with technology and who believe that there is only 1 way to teach and learn are probably not the best choice for involvement in Web-based instruction. Given the unpredictability of the Internet and computers in general, and the wide variation in hardware that students will use to access the course, it can be guaranteed that technical problems will develop during the course. Faculty will certainly need campus technical computer support to successfully implement and deliver a Web-based course. Faculty can best handle technical difficulties by proactively anticipating that frustrations will occur, and developing alternate student learning activities for use when technical problems do develop. Faculty also should anticipate that the first 2 to 3 weeks of the course will probably require as much attention to technology management as they will to course content. Faculty may want to design the learning activities for the first couple of weeks of the course with this in mind, placing more demanding assignments later in the course. Students can become overwhelmed quickly as they try to cope with technical difficulties at the same time they are trying to learn large amounts of new material. The challenges of technology are predictably less for students and faculty who have prior experience with Web-based instruction. Consistency of instruction design and Web page format also lessens technology-related problems for students enrolled in a Web-based degree program.
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Student Evaluation
Evaluating student outcomes can take on new challenges when the students are geographically dispersed and not present in the classroom with faculty when tests are administered. Issues of test security and ensuring the validity of a student’s work can be significant. USI nursing faculty have explored various options for administering examinations. Many faculty have continued to administer tests in the traditional classroom manner with proctors being used for students who are distant from campus. Test proctors may be either faculty or student selected. Student-selected proctors are subject to faculty approval. Others use take-home, open-book essay tests when that method is appropriate for the course content. Faculty also must consider how they will conduct test reviews and distribute test grades. There are various course management software programs that allow students to access their course grades at their convenience. In the fall of 1999, some faculty began implementing on-line testing in their courses. Tests are posted on the Web at a predetermined time and students must access the test when it is available. Previous to taking the test, students are asked to read and sign a statement agreeing to follow the university honor code regarding cheating. During the testing time period, both a technical support person and the course faculty are available to answer any questions that may develop. Test results are submitted directly to a database for analysis by faculty. As faculty gain further experience with this method of testing, we anticipate that on-line testing will become the method of choice for our program. Student Development Needs
Enrolling in a Web course is still a new experience for many students. Students find that in addition to learning how to manage the technology, they need to be more self-directed in identifying their learning needs and seeking faculty feedback. Developing timemanagement skills also may represent a challenge. Some students miss the regular face-to-face interaction with faculty and peers and the structure that such interactions provide. They also may experience a sense of isolation and separation from the institution. USI nursing faculty have developed a number of strategies that are designed to help students adjust to the demands of a Web-based course and hopefully lessen potential student frustration, especially for those students who are not adept at using computers. Some of
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these strategies are implemented before the courses are taught and some are implemented during the teaching of the course. Precourse Activities
Each faculty member sends a letter to students registered for their Web-based course approximately 3 to 4 weeks before the beginning of the course so that students can be made aware of technology requirements. This letter describes for students the minimum computer hardware requirements necessary to successfully access the courses they are enrolled in as well as the need for Internet access and an e-mail address. Although this information is included in the school’s student handbooks, we have found it helpful to periodically remind students of these requirements. Students are informed of any planned class meeting dates so that they can plan their schedules, and the phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and fax numbers of faculty and technical support staff are provided. The importance of time-management skills, self-direction, and flexibility also are emphasized. This letter has been so useful to students that it has become a standard requirement for all of our Internet courses. Optional technology-orientation sessions are held each semester the week before and during the first week of classes. These orientation sessions provide students with an introduction to the Internet, their course, and the computer conferencing software that the nursing program uses. Listservs and e-mail also are discussed when appropriate. An instructional technology guide that students can use as a reference throughout the semester has been developed and is distributed to all nursing students enrolled in a Web-based course. It also is available on-line on the school’s distance learning Web site and through an instructional CD that can be mailed to geographically distant students. During the Course
A ‘‘help desk’’ conference room is established on the computer conferencing board so that students may post questions and ask for help throughout the semester as technology problems arise. The ‘‘help desk’’ is monitored daily during the week by support staff within the school so that students can receive a prompt response to their questions. By posting answers in this public conference room, other students also can read and hopefully benefit from the information. This ‘‘help-desk’’ has been useful to faculty who can then focus on the teaching-learning process, knowing that the technical questions are being
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promptly dealt with by the technology support staff. Students always have the option of telephoning the support staff as well when they have questions or technical problems. Faculty also have found it useful to initially set specific deadlines for responses and assignments from students. By establishing a weekly assignment schedule, faculty can help students adjust within a given time frame to the relative flexibility of a Web-based course. Students who are not used to being selfmotivated in their studies or who are not well organized benefit from these deadlines because they can quickly become overwhelmed and forced to withdraw from the course if they do not keep up with the course work. This usually becomes less of a problem for most students as they adjust to the format of Web-based instruction. It also is important for faculty to actively ‘‘seek-out’’ students in the first weeks of the course, especially when they identify an individual student who is not participating in discussion exercises or submitting assignments. Lack of participation usually occurs for 2 reasons: the student feels isolated and lacks the self-direction necessary for a Web-based course, or the technology is overwhelming the student. In either case, early recognition and assistance from the faculty can determine whether or not the student will ultimately be successful in the course. Some students may need to be encouraged to initiate contact with faculty. Requiring students to identify personal learning goals for the course and e-mailing these to faculty during the first week of the course may help ‘‘break the ice’’ and give faculty information that can be used to begin building a relationship with individual students. Timely feedback from faculty is essential to promoting student satisfaction with a Web-based course. This is especially important during the first couple of weeks in the course when students are most likely to have questions. Prompt responses to e-mail communication, ready availability through e-mail and/or phone office hours, clarity of instructions and expectations, and prompt acknowledgment of assignments received from students are positive faculty practices that have been identified by our students as being most helpful to them. It is useful for students to have the opportunity to formatively and summatively evaluate the course, especially during the initial offerings of the course on the Web. Formative evaluation will provide faculty with feedback that can be used to modify the course as
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2. Student-Perceived Advantages and Disadvantages of Web-Based Instruction Advantages
Disadvantages
Increased time flexibility Improved computer skills Decreased travel time to class Increased access to information Self-paced, independent learning
Frustrated by technology difficulties Decreased contact with faculty and peers Increased time demands for course work Increased need for self-discipline Increased course costs related to technology
necessary to better meet the students’ learning needs. In addition to evaluating course content and learning activities, students should have the opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the technical support available to them as well as the design and accessibility of the course Web pages. Project Outcomes
The perceived advantages and disadvantages to Web-based instruction vary depending on individualized student and faculty preferred learning and teaching styles, comfort with technology, and available administrative support services. Tables 2 and 3 have a summary of these identified advantages and disadvantages. Students have identified the major benefits of Web-based instruction to include increased flexibility, improved computer skills, decreased travel time, increased access to information, and self-paced, independent learning. Some of the disadvantages cited by students include technology difficulties, decreased contact with faculty and peers, increased time demands, the need for self-discipline, and the cost of the technology to take the course. Faculty-cited advantages include flexibility, ready access to information on TABLE
3. Faculty-Perceived Advantages and Disadvantages of Web-Based Instruction Advantages
Disadvantages
Increased time flexibility Increased access to course related ‘‘cutting edge’’ information Increased frequency of communication with individual students Increased frequency and depth of student contributions to class discussion
Frustrated by technology difficulties Increased time demands for teaching course Lack of personal ‘‘face-toface’’ contact with students in classroom
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the Web, and increased frequency and depth of student communication and class discussion. Facultyidentified disadvantages include technology difficulties, increased time spent teaching the course, and lack of personal contact with students, even though faculty acknowledge that the use of the computer seems to allow some students a means to more freely express themselves. Learning outcomes of USI Web-based nursing courses as measured by course test scores have equaled or exceeded traditionally taught course scores. This is consistent with Russell’s (1999) results posted on a North Carolina State University Web site dedicated to reporting distance education research outcomes. Students enrolled in Web-based courses also experience a more independent, self-directed approach to learning than students in traditional courses. This is consistent with life-long professional learning. The increased Internet knowledge and skills gained by students
enrolled in Web-based courses are desirable learning outcomes for professionals who will practice in the new millennium. As Web-based instruction and technology sophistication grow, the disadvantages of Web-based instruction will lessen. The need for increased student access to advanced practice nursing degree programs and specialized professional education support further development of Web-based instruction. Positive student learning outcomes will increase as new technology provides opportunities for increased interactive on-line learning and as faculty gain expertise in facilitating on-line teaching. The time and resources to support student and faculty success in using Web-based instruction is an investment in the future of nursing and quality health care. Readers may visit the University of Southern Indiana School of Nursing and Health Professions’ Web site at http://www.health.usi.edu.
References Carlton, K. H., Ryan, M. E., & Siktberg, L. L. (1998). Designing courses for the internet: A conceptual approach. Nurse Educator, 23, 45-50. Halstead, J., Hayes, R., Reising, D., & Billings, D. (1995). Nursing student information network: Fostering collegial communications using a computer conference. Computers in Nursing, 13, 55-59. Roselund, C., Damask-Bembenek, B., Hugie, P., & Matsumura, G. (1999). The development of online courses for undergraduate nursing education: A faculty perspective. Nursing and Health Care Perspectives, 20, 194-198.
Russell, T. L. (ed.). (1999). No significant differences. Website of Office of Instructional Telecommunications. North Carolina State University [On-line]. Available: http:// teleducation.nb.ca/nosignificantdifferences/ Sullivan, E. J. (1997). A changing higher education environment. Journal of Professional Nursing, 13, 143-148. Thiele, J. E., Allen, C., & Stucky, M. (1999). Effects of Web-based instruction on learning behaviors of undergraduate and graduate students. Nursing and Health Care Perspectives, 20, 199-203.