NURSING EDUCATION:
THINKING AND LEARNING
IN A NEW WAY
Grace Saylor MSN, RN
Julie Hamilton BSN, RN
Bryan Thomas Technology Specialist
What is the problem?
Nursing shortage
Wait list to enter the nursing program is over two years
No program for students who cannot attend the day
program
No flexibility in the delivery system for the current program
Solution
Different times?
Different days?
How about a different delivery system…Aha!!
How Did We Get There?
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There were no programs using this format in the state of
South Carolina.
York Technical College made a request for a competitive
Allied Health Initiative to implement this initiative.
The proposal requested funding for one full year to
allow students to complete the Practical Nursing program
Getting Started
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Competitive Grant was awarded
Merit Entry for 24 students
Distributive learning classes Monday/Tuesday evening
Campus labs and clinical experience every other
weekend during the day
Student orientation to the technology
Student Demographics
TEXT
6 single parents
8 undergrad
degrees
2 EMT’s
24 Students
Age 24 - 48
Travel
8 –TEXT
35 miles
18 work
full time
Addressing the Barriers
Child Care
Issues
Employment
Issues
Transportation
Financial Issues
Maximize Student Success
Diversity
Productivity
Access
Consistency
Support
Text
Engagement
What we have in place…

Digital Technology Leader

#1 digital-savvy community college in the county

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Distance Learning

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Use of Learning Management System (LMS)--Web CT
Innovative Distributed Learning Methods

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Center for Digital Education
American Association of Community Colleges
Lecture on CD’s (Faculty Generated)
Podcasting (Audio and Video)
Development of Educational Technology Specialists

Team devoted to the creative ideas of instructors
Why conferencing software?

Add live/real time to Distance Learning

Extend the boundaries of traditional classrooms
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Engage students in innovative ways

Promote active learning and critical thinking
Distance Learning
Asynchronous
LMS
WebCT
Synchronous
Web Conferencing Software
Elluminate Live!
Communication
Link
Education
Link
The Classroom
Student Engagement
This class was
recorded on
August 25,
2008. It
shows the
Polling
Feature,
Whiteboard
Interaction,
and Critical
Thinking.
Elluminate Software

Technical Foundation
 Internet Connection Speed
 All-bandwidth
connectivity
 No one left behind
 Compatibility
 Cross
platform support
 Microsoft windows, Mac OS, Linux, Solaris
 Password
Protection
http://www.elluminate.com/academic_edition

Support
 Audio
Setup Wizard
 Diagnose problems from home

Accessibility
 LMS
integration
 Provide access for all students, regardless of location
http://www.elluminate.com/academic_edition
The Results

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Twenty-four students began this program
Eighteen graduated after one year
 Retention Night 75% vs Day 45%
100% passed the NCLEX-PN licensure exam
Program extended for one more year
 Fifteen
chose to continue in the Associate Degree
Program
 At this point all 15 are slated to graduate in October
Student Comments
Advantages
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“Content is easy to go back and review.”
‘I save gas. This is huge.”
“Being able to be at home.”
“Once my daughter was sick. I didn’t have to miss class
to be with her.”
“I was more at ease with this format.”
“I can access my class if I am away on business.”
“Fellow students seem to feel more comfortable to
share without worrying about judgment from others.”
Student Comments
Disadvantages

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“If there is an electrical storm or your computer dies,
you are sunk.”
“Limited social contact.”
“Not warm and personal.”
“Sometimes there are delays when my computer
would act up.”
“You have to be quick to buzz in with your answer.”
What Did We Learn
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Students readily adapted to this format
Having the same day for the classes was helpful in creating
a schedule for their personal life
This technology was easy to learn
Anything done in a traditional class room could be duplicated
using this delivery system
We would change some of the Merit requirements
We could have accommodated all 24 students in one
session
Where Are We Going
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South Carolina State Board of Nursing approved this as a
PN program for 2009
We have been approved to admit 32 students for
January 2009
Other Health programs are considering this format
Questions???
http://www.elluminate.com/academic_edition