Module 3

      Continuing with last week’s blog, a couple of other technologies that are available at Mercy College include Soft Chalk and Voice thread. Soft Chalk is a learning tool that makes content more interactive. The educator can use this tool to make interactive lessons or assessments. Soft Chalk also has a “cloud” that you can use to find lessons or assessments. Teachers can also use the cloud to store and share their content. Soft Chalk is compatible with most learning management systems (LMS). The other thing that I appreciate about soft chalk is that upon completion of any assessment, soft chalk grades and records the score into the grade book of the LMS. When Soft Chalk was first implemented in my online course, the students did struggle a bit with completing the assessment, but we found that the issues were due user error. I believe what has helped me the most with learning how to implement this technology are the webinars that are located on the website and our faculty resource page. Also, as I mentioned before our distance education provides monthly technology workshops. The topics of the seminars range from academic integrity, best practices, and innovative teaching strategies. Attending those workshops have been helpful because faculty can ask questions and interact with the technology.

      A second technology that I have utilized in my online courses is the Voice Thread. Voice Thread allows the teacher or the students to present a power point online with adding a voice and video. Each student in my online course has to complete a research project, and they use Voice Thread to share their findings. Each student posts the link to the presentation in the online discussion forum and then the students access the presentation. This technology has been beneficial because it gives the student the opportunity to complete a project and share their findings in the online environment. Many of the students that enroll in online classes do so for the convenience and accessibility, and Voice Thread helps maintain the convenience and access for the students. I would recommend that Mercy College continues to invest in products like Voice Thread and Soft chalk because they are interactive and student-centered.  I believe that having the distance education department offer monthly professional development opportunities for faculty, is crucial for improving online learning experiences. I have included several links below that discuss the different online tools available for educators. I also added websites that introduce Soft Chalk and Voice Thread.

References:

http://www.edudemic.com/best-web-tools/

https://www.noodle.com/articles/32-innovative-online-tools-to-use-in-2015

http://softchalk.com/

http://voicethread.com/

Module 2

     Mercy College of Ohio (MCO) is making strides to improve technology accessibility on campus. The five technologies that I have available include simulation, e-books, clickers, smart boards, and LMS (Desire to Learn platform). I am comfortable with using the Desire to Learn (D2L) platform for communicating with students in the virtual office or discussion boards. I also use D2L to post course materials such as syllabi, clinical schedules, recorded lectures, quizzes, and grades. As for simulation, we have a high-fidelity mannequin that we use each semester as a formative assessment, I have had some experience facilitating the scenarios, but I could improve in this area. I have used our smaller simulation models in the class to help students learn skills and practice assessment techniques. For example, we have simulators that we can use to identify lung sounds that students may encounter in the clinical setting. I have tried using the clickers to engage the students during class. However, some of the students did not purchase the clickers, so it was difficult to use clickers as a learning tool. E-books are new to our campus, but I am learning how to use this application. I need instruction on the smart boards.

     The students claimed the barrier to purchasing the clickers was the cost. One way to combat this issue is to have students download polling apps to their mobile devices. This will allow students to participate still in class. I believe that using clickers or polling apps are a good way to assess student learning. In an article by Boctor, she notes that quiz-style games such as using the clickers benefit instructors as a formative assessment tool (Boctor, 2012). Also, many students enjoy games and competition. Boctor (2012) explains that games are one technique that can be used to increase student engagement and help students construct a deep meaning of concepts. The smartboard is new to the MCO campus, and they are not available in every classroom. Therefore, only a few instructors have received training. With the addition of concept-based curriculum, the nursing faculty has implemented the use of e-books. One of the reasons for this change is help decrease cost. According to Kissinger (2013), higher education institutions are considering the move to using electronic textbooks and materials as a way to cut costs and to improve student accessibility to an affordable education. The e-books offer several other teaching strategies such as case studies and adaptive quizzing. I need further instruction on the adaptive quizzing strategy.

       Professional development for the e-books has included webinars and one face-to-face workshop. The workshop was offered before the implementation of the product. Therefore, it was difficult to retain the information. Since transitioning to the concept-based curriculum, I have communicated with the instructional designers and educators of the product for additional help. As for the smart boards, I have not heard of any opportunities for professional development it is my hope that, as we implement more smart boards in the classroom, that MCO will bring in more resources. In regards to simulation, I have attended several conferences on how to assess and implement simulation as a teaching strategy. However, when it comes to using a specific piece of technology usually, the manufacturers come to campus to assist the faculty. I recommend that the college provides its faculty with more professional development opportunities. Webinars are great a learning tool, but many of these technologies need a hands-on demonstration.

References:

Boctor, L. (2012). Active learning strategies: The use of a game to reinforce learning in nursing education. A case study. Nurse Education in Practice, 13, 96-100.

Kissinger, J. S. (2013). The social & mobile learning experiences of students using mobile e- books. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 17(1), 153-169.

Welcome

Introduction:
This is my 9th year of teaching nursing students at Mercy College of Ohio. My areas of expertise include adult health, oncology and nursing research. I am very new to blogging, however I am excited to explore the possibilities. Currently this blog coincides with the final course of my EdD program. This semester we are examining the effectiveness of technology in higher education. I look forward to your comments. Also thank you for subscribing.