The information age

The information age

 A period in history characterized by
 A change in focus from industry to information
 Growth of technology
 Information explosion
 Education in the information age
 The use of technology in education is a reflection of what is
happening on a much larger scale in our communities
 We are in a period of history often referred to as the
information age , the the information age is characterized by
a change in focus from industry to information
 The impact of technology on the teacher and
the learner
The information age technology has had a significant influence
on educators and learners for a number of reasons. Most
importantly ,
Learning has become a shared responsibility. Teacher has
taken on the role of facilitator as the access to information
bridge the gap between teacher and learner. When information
is widely available ,it is no longer necessary for the teacher to
find’, filter and deliver the content . Therefore , the teacher is
no longer the person who holds all of the answers or the
individual who is solely responsible for imparting the
information
 Educators in the information age are becoming facilitators of
learning rather than providers of information. The need for
memorization of the information becomes less important than the
ability to think critically. They are helping individuals to learn how
to refine a problem, to find the information they need, and to
critically evaluate the information they find.
Educators must structure their approach to Teaching Profession
to be consistent with the needs of the information age clients.
The nurse must be prepared to be a facilitator of learning by
healping clients to access, evaluate and use the wide range of
information that is available. The nurse must also learn how and
when to use technology and remain current as new technology –
based tools become available in order to optimize each learning
experience.
 Like consumer, health professional in the information age
can use the Internet and the World Wide Web as vehicles for
sharing resources and for gaining access to the most current
information in their field
 Computer have made it possible to provide anytime,
anywhere accesses to job training and continuing education.
Viritual reality and computer simulation can open up
opportunities to learn hands-on skills and develop
competencies in areas such as diagnostic reasoning and
problem solving
 Information Literacy
The ability to:
 Access needed information
 Evaluate information found
 Organize information
 Use information from a variety of sources
 Computer Literacy
 The ability to use the computer hardware and software
necessary to accomplish routine tasks
 Consumer Informatics
 A field of study that are directed to find ways to use
technology to strengthen the relationship between client
and health care providers as well as to teach and
empower clients dealing with issues related to health and
wellness
 Models/integrates consumer preferences into medical
information systems
Strategies for using technology in health care
education

•A pre-teaching assessment of a client in the information age

must begin with questions about computer use.
 I. On-line Healthcare Education
1. World Wide Web (WWW)

World Wide Web (WWW): A technical definition of the World

Wide Web is all the resources and users on the Internet that are
using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that provides access
to images, videos , sound and text
the world wide web is the most familiar technology-based
educational recourses Internet

As it is provides unlimited resources for nurses to use in practice and

in professional education and development. Web sites provide
access to bibliographic databases, continuing education, online
journals and resources for patient teaching and professional practice.
 Because the web can be so influential, it is important to
determine that the information a client has found is accurate,
complete and fully understood.

 It is important for nurses to establish early in their relationship

with clients that they are interested in talking with them about the
information they have gathered from the web or other resources
they have available to them. Client need to feel that nurses are
open to discussing whatever information they find. They need to
understand that nurses are a partner in seeking the best
information available.
It is important to conduct a teaching session with health
consumers about computer access in order to to :

provide the nurse educator with the opportunity to review

web-based information with the client.

determine the type and amount of information to which the

client has been exposed and assess the clients knowledge and
identify areas in which the client may have need for further
teaching.

 find information that needs further discussion.

2. Internet

The World Wide Web (WWW) is merely a small component

of the much larger computer net work called internet.

The internet service most likely to be of interest to nurse

educators includes those that allow computer-facilitated
communication such as

E-mail
Mailing lists
Electronic discussion group
Online chats
Steps to develop website information literacy
skills

Healthcare consumers may not have the background knowledge

to evaluate information to the same extent as a professional,
they can be taught some simple steps to develop their
information literacy skills and to help them begin to identify
which web sites are useful and which are problematic. These
steps are:
 Reduce a problem to a searchable command
 Categorize a Web page according to its purpose
 Identify sources of potential bias
 Make judgments about the accuracy and reliability of
information found
 Make decisions about the comprehensiveness of information
found
 Determine currency
 Identify resources to answer questions or verify assumptions
about content of a webpage
 The nurse can teach clients who access the web to use it more
effectively and can be proactive in encouraging others to give it
a try.
Sample of websites appropriate to the needs of
different client populations
Sample of websites for health care professional
Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites
1. Accuracy .
Make sure that ;

• Supportive data provided, current and from reputable

source

• Can you find the same information on other website

• Is the information provided comprehensive ?

• Is there more than point of view presented?

2. Design

•Is the site well organized and easy to navigate?

• Can I find the information I am looking for within a few clicks?
•Are there typographical error ?
•Do graphics serve a purpose other than decoration ?
3. Authority
Are the sponsor / author(s) credible, governments ,educational
institution , health carte organization ….. ?
Are the author credential appropriate for the purpose of the site ?
4. Authors/Sponsors
Who is the author/publisher?
 Is that source clearly identified on the site?
Can I contact the author through an e-mail, phone number, or a
mailing address?
What are the author's credentials? Is he or she an expert in the
subject I am researching?
Is the site created or sponsored by a reputable organization? If so,
can
Can I confirm that the organization is a credible, authoritative
source of information?
5. Currency
Are the links current or updated regularly?
Is the information on the page outdated?
 Internet-based Communication
 The internet services most likely to be of interest to nurse educators
include those that allow computer facilitated communication that have
been used to communicate with people about health and healthcare
such as ;
 E-mail
 Electronic discussion groups
 Mailing lists
 Blogs, online forums, message boards, bulletin boards
 Online chats
 Discussion Boards
 E-Health Code of Ethics
 Candor ;disclose the information about the creators nl
purpose of the site that will help users make judgment about
the creditability and trustworthiness of information or
service provided
 Honesty ;truthful in describing products and present
information that is not likely to mislead the user
 Quality; ensure that information is accurate, easy to
understood and provide background information
 Informed Consent; inform the user if personal information is
collected and allow them to choose whether the information
can be used or shared
 Privacy ;ensure that the user’s rights to privacy is protected
 Professionalism in online health care ;A bide by the ethical code
of your profession (nursing ,medicine), provide the users with the
information about who you are, what you can do online and
which limitations may apply to the online interaction
 Responsible Partnering ; ensure that sponsors ,partners and others
who works with you are trustworthy
 Accountability ; Implement procedure for collecting ,reviewing
and responding to user feedback . Develop and share procedures
for self-monitoring compliance with the e-Health Codes of Ethics
 II. Social Media
 The health care industry has begun to recognize the potential of
social media to educate and empower people ,to quickly send
messages t a worldwide audience and to gather information about
public perceptions of health issues.
 Blogs, Wikis
 Consumers may turn to these for health-related information to share
knowledge and experience in a specific topic.
 Many of the blogs found on the web are health related and the creators
tell a story about their experience in a given disease or treatment.
 Wiki are more social in their construction as multiple users come
together on a wiki to collaboratively write the content of collections of
webpages
 Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
All are other social media tools that can be employed by nurse
for educational purposes

With these media , users create their own profile pages where
information, pictures, and other forms of media such as
blogs for comments can be posted.
 Webcasts
Are live broadcasts over the Internet that growing in
popularity as a training device that permit audio\video to
be transmitted to participants in multiple locations .

Although webcast do not allow for interaction , they are

growing in popularity as a training device for sharing
lecture and demonstrations
 Webinars
Are web-based conferencing that allow for interaction and
when well run, can be an effective teaching \ learning
strategy with group of people at distance
 Mobile Learning (m-Learning)
The word mobile referes to both to the use of portable
technologies such as MP3 player to the end user –the mobile
adult who can truly learn any where ,any time ,any place .
Mobile devices can be used for a wide range o activities and
with both clients in the clinical area and students in the
academic area. These activities include accessing websites,
listening to the lectures, or broadcasts, recording experience,
and assignments and participating in learning focused games
(peters,2007)
 Distance Education
 Distance education for nurses is flourishing in the 21st
century where degree programs are offered at all levels
(Billings 2007).
 Distance education means different things to different
people , the Internet is primary vehicle for delivering
distance education . Online courses, correspondence
courses, independent study and videoconferencing are just
a few of the techniques that can be used to deliver
education to students studying at a distance
 When distance education programs introduced , they
quite controversial .

 For example when Regents External Degree program

was first created in 1974,many people believed that a
distance model was inappropriate for nursing education.
Today , Regents External Degree program ,now known as
Excelsior College, ,is one of the largest nursing program
in the world ,with more than 1,6000nursing students
enrolled in associate, baccelora and master degree
program (Excelsior College, 2007)
 In 1994, ,another milestone was reached in nursing
education when Duquesne University in Pennsylvania
opened the first online distance education program
leading to a PhD in nursing
 Excelsior College& Duquesne University are just a few
examples of distance education in nursing in USA .
 Standards and guidelines for quality in distance
education have been developed by several education
organizations to main effective educational programs
(Billings 2007, Institutes for Higher Education Policy
2000)
 State of the Evidence
 Large body of research investigating effect of distance
education technologies on student outcomes.
 Growing body of research on use of technology in patient
education.
 Summary

 Technology is a powerful tool to enhance learning.

However, technology is a means to an end, not an end
in and of itself. It must be used with thought, careful
planning, and thorough evaluation.
 Reference
 Bastable, S. (2014): Nurse As Educator: Principles of
Teaching and Learning For Nursing Practice. 3rd ed Jones
and Bartlett Publishers, Sudbury.