Authors

  1. Haggard-Duff, Lauren PhD, RN, CNE
  2. Rainey, Larronda DNP, RN
  3. Riley, Elizabeth DNP, RNC-NIC, CNE
  4. Whited, Teresa PhD, RN
  5. Cowan, Patricia PhD, RN

Article Content

Technology has taken the forefront in nursing education as clinical site availability lessened and simulation expanded to compensate for unavailable clinical experiences. One avenue to prepare nurses as educators, and new faculty as they orient to the educator role, includes teaching about learning management systems (LMSs). All courses within our college use an LMS, even those held face-to-face. In a "teaching strategies and technology" course in a nurse educator track, students completed an assignment where they analyzed an online course by applying a course rubric of best practices in online education delivery. Next, students and new nursing faculty who audit the course spent 6 weeks creating their own course in a blank course shell from a faculty-created syllabus. Learning outcomes related to creating a course included the following: (1) Apply the most commonly used theories, models, and philosophies of e-Learning to the design and construction of technology-based courseware and (2) Design e-Learning experiences using architectures that accommodate learners' special needs and consideration. Learners used faculty-created videos and online tutorials to learn how to modify components within the course. Faculty also met with students within the LMS for support. Student feedback has been positive: the average mean course score from students between 2017 and 2020 was 4.78 on a 1- to 5-point scale. One student commented: "The opportunity to build an [online] course from start to finish was an amazing way to learn this, since I learn best hands-on."