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nician behaviors: A persistent threat to patient safety [Electronic version]. Patient Safety & Quality Health Care, July/August, 1–11. Retrieved from http://www.psqh .com/julaug06/disruptive.html
Quality and Safety Education for Nurses.
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Rosenstein, A. H. (2009). Managing disrup- tive behaviors in the health care setting:
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course is being offered defi nes the synchro- nous or asynchronous learning expectations for online courses and programs.
Videoconferencing is a distance edu- cation format where the instructor is at the education site and the students are present at another location. The videoconferencing format allows for the student and instructor to be available synchronously but at different locations. The distance classroom has two- way monitors where students and instructors can see each other in real time. The instructor can share presentations and resources with students. The learning activities that can be used are the same that may be used in the traditional classroom. The distant site has support staff to assist with technology issues and student support.
Audioconferencing is a distant educa- tion format where the learning occurs over the telephone. The instructor is located at one place and students may be at another place or call from their home. Audioconferencing may be incorporated in a blended for- mat with online courses or webinars.
Audioconferencing is synchronous, and stu- dents and instructors are able to communi- cate in real time. The learning activity that may be found during audioconferencing is discussions of current topics.
Webinar is a distance education format where there is a one-way video broadcast via the Internet with the instructor at one loca- tion and students at one or more locations.
The instructor presents the webinar and con- trols the audio and video. The students call from the computer or phone. They are able to see the video online and hear the confer- ence, but the instructor is not able to see the students. Students are able to ask questions via the chat box and open discussion ses- sions. The instructors and students meet in a synchronous format. The learning activities that may be used include discussions, poll- ing, and brainstorming.
SYNOPSIS
Distance education provides opportunities for students in rural and underserved areas and instructor are not in the same general
location. The students who are taking dis- tance education courses are separated by geographical or physical distance from the instructor (Zerwekh, 2011). The distance education student may be in the same gen- eral location or a different country than the instructor, but there is no physical presence on campus.
APPLICATION
Distance education involves communication using some form of technology that provides learning. Beaudoin (1990) posits that distance education is learner centered where the fac- ulty reinforces learning through explana- tion, references, and thoughtful questioning.
The education may be in the form of online (e-learning), videoconference, audioconfer- ence, or combination of online and audiocon- ferencing called webinar. Distance education may be offered to students in a synchronous or asynchronous format.
The distance education format that is emphasized and utilized most frequently is online (e-learning). The online format uses course management systems that are consid- ered in the classroom. The students may be assigned several learning activities includ- ing written assignments, debates, concept maps, case studies, examinations, or jour- naling. Instructors may offer offi ce hours via synchronous chat or videoconferencing.
The instructor facilitates learning by using Socratic questioning in the discussion board and grading of assignments. The students must be active in the online environment, motivated, self-directed, and disciplined to complete the discussions and assignments.
Students may be assigned discussions or assignments with deadlines so that the students may complete their work on their own time within the time frame assigned.
The instructor facilitates discussions using Socratic questions for deep critical thinking.
Some online courses may require students to attend synchronous sessions to discuss diffi cult concepts. The institution where the
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2008). The main benefi t of asynchronous learn- ing is that students are able to complete course work at a time that is convenient to them.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Distance education provides opportunities for students who may not otherwise have an opportunity to obtain a degree. To pro- vide the best opportunity for students, the distance education course or program must consider the learning styles of all students.
Faculty must be familiar with multiple media formats that are available. There is a need for current research on emerging tech- nologies to examine if they promote student learning.
Further research should be considered to evaluate the implementation of distant education teaching methodologies. Nursing education should examine the modalities to identify if they are meeting the needs of different learning styles (Mancuso-Murphy, 2007). If students are having diffi culty with the online environment there will be high student turnover. Research should also examine student turnover in the distance education environment.
Beaudoin, M. (1990). The instructors’ changing role in distance education. The American Journal of Distance Education, 4, 2.
Frith, K. (2013). An overview of distance edu- cation and online learning. In K. Frith &
J. Clark (Eds.), Distance education in nurs- ing (pp. 17–31). New York, NY: Springer Publishing.
Jones, D., & Wolf, D. (2010). Shaping the future of nursing education today using distance education and technology. ABNF Journal, 21(2), 44–47.
Mancuso-Murphy, J. (2007). Distance educa- tion in nursing: An integrated review of online nursing students’ experience with technology-delivered instruction. Journal of Nursing Education, 46(6), 252–260.
Zerwekh, J. (2011). E-learning defi ned. In T.
Bristol & J. Zerwekh (Eds.), Essentials for e-learning for nurse educators (pp. 1–11).
Philadelphia, PA: F.A Davis.
who may not otherwise be able to obtain a degree due to travel, personal, or time con- straints. Frith (2013) presents the advan- tages of distance education for students who would not have an opportunity for education, including access and fl exibility for those who would not have access to education due to no local programs, work, or family schedules.
The disadvantages include students who may often feel they are alone and technology issues. Distance education requires the use of technology that is ever changing.
Distance education is continually chang- ing with the rapid technological advances. A critical component of distance education is the ability of the educational institution to adapt to the technological advances in order to facilitate student learning in the rapidly changing environment. Distance education will continue to increase due to the technol- ogy driven health care industry and evolv- ing technologies (Jones & Wolf, 2010). With evolving technology found in the health care environment, new and emerging technolo- gies must be incorporated in the distance education environment.
Distance education that is synchronous occurs when the student and learner are interacting at the same time but in different locations. This may occur using videocon- ferencing, teleconferencing, or instant mes- saging. The main advantage to synchronous learning is increased communication and decreased travel time. The disadvantages include technological issues and audio func- tionality (Zsohar & Smith, 2008). The benefi ts for synchronous instruction are that students and instructors are available at the same time and immediate feedback is available.
Distance education that is asynchronous allows the instructor and student the ability and fl exibility to complete learning activities at different times. The students have deadlines to complete assignments. The students have the time to formulate thoughts and ideas, not inter- rupted by other students, and create records of discussions (Zsohar & Smith, 2008). The dis- advantages are that students have no direct contact, have a loss of spontaneity, and have limitations in discussions (Zsohar & Smith,
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the participant and the participant’s work, use of software that facilitates peer learning and peer review of participant’s work, capa- bilities for small group work, and language translation capabilities have increased the support for global use of distance education.
APPLICATION
Distance education is used to facilitate access to education for learners who cannot easily travel to the source of instruction, to provide convenience for learners who are working during the time the instruction is offered, and to recruit new learners. Distance edu- cation is widely used in nursing education, particularly to offer graduate degrees and certifi cates, to provide continuing education, orient new staff, and update nurses’ compe- tencies in clinical agencies, as well as for cli- ent instruction.
Distance education is also used to inter- nationalize learning experiences for nurses.
Several examples include the increasing use of MOOCs to attract a diverse and global audience. Online courses and archived webi- nars can be offered globally with the course content being offered at one site and the clini- cal experiences and application of course concepts offered worldwide.
SYNOPSIS
One of the biggest issues is the cost involved in offering distance-delivered courses, and particularly those offered at sites that require expensive infrastructure develop- ment to participate in course offerings. The costs include purchase or lease of software and hardware, adequate bandwidth to sup- port transmission of images, and technical support to maintain the learning system and user support for course design. Time is also required to orient users to technology and new modes of teaching and learning.
The need for resources may be more acute in countries where the requisite infrastructure is not in place.
Teaching at a distance uses specifi c pedagogical approaches to develop courses Zsohar, H., & Smith, J. (2008). Transition
from the classroom to the web: Successful strategies for teaching online. Nursing Education Perspectives, 29, 23–28.
Kari L. Luoma