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Online course in two-year nursing education.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of offering an online nursing course at a community college in Iowa. Using a qualitative design, data were gathered from administrators and nursing instructors using interviews and a survey to understand the perceptions about offering a pharmacology course online and the impact of the format on student learning. The results of this study will inform faculty in community colleges about the advantages and disadvantages of developing online courses and will add to the nursing education literature.

Introduction

Online education has captured the interest of educators. Because of increased technology opportunities, educators have the capability to deliver programs of study outside the traditional classroom (Mills & Hrubetz, 2001). Specifically, nursing education has become interested in this type of course delivery. The internet has the capacity of delivering nursing courses online to cover class content and provide increased access for students. Many students live in rural areas and do not have access to education. Others have families and jobs that restrict their collegiate opportunities. One important implication for online classes in nursing is the type of courses nurse educators can offer due to the nature of the practice of nursing. Pharmacology may be one possibility for nurses to offer online because of class content with minimal clinical component.

Further research regarding the feasibility of online nursing classes in a vocational setting is necessary. To date, there is a dearth of literature on this topic. Since most of the research literature tends to focus on online education with regards to arts and sciences, this inquiry provides new ways to examine the feasibility of an online pharmacology course in a vocational nursing program.

The availability of the Internet in the college setting has prompted colleges to take advantage of the new technology, and to spend millions of dollars to update their computer systems. The World Wide Web has had tremendous influence on recent student learning. The need to integrate information technology into nursing education is well documented (Kenney, 2002). According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN, 2000), technological advances provide the opportunity to increase opportunities and improve the quality of and access to nursing education. However, technology remains a neglected topic in many nursing programs and, as a result, many nursing students are missing the opportunity to take advantage of this new educational technology. The nursing faculty has been reluctant to offer an online course because of the nature of nursing education. Nursing education is known as a "hands on" profession, and many classes require "psychomotor skills" to be taught in the classroom. However, pharmacology is primarily lectured based, and may be a good option for an online nursing course.

Literature Review

Online Learning

Educators have been challenged by the need to use a variety of teaching approaches. Educators are recognizing the necessity of offering online instruction to meet the demands of the students (Cuellar, 2002). Short (2000) maintains that courses delivered online are breaking down geographic restrictions and opening doors with academic opportunities for learning at home. It was estimated that in 2002, 2.2 million college students enrolled in online courses, an increase from 710,000 in 1998 (Cuellar, 2002). Cuellar further reports this number is predicted to rise 30% annually. At present, 84% of public 4-year college settings are offering online courses. Currently in Iowa seven community colleges belong to the Iowa Community College Online Consortium (ICCOC). The Consortium of colleges partner together to offer associate degrees completely online. These colleges offer approximately 200 online classes annually. In addition to the online consortium, three other community colleges in Iowa offer online classes.

Billings, Connors and Skiba, (2001) state that the "future education and training will be independent of time and place. Learners will have access to a wide range of media, as well as sources of education" (p. 41). Distance education emphasizes the "virtual classroom." In this virtual classroom, distance education stresses the importance of design of the instruction, support of the learner, interaction between the student and faculty, and evaluation of learning outcomes (Boyle & Wambach,...

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