Exploring Evaluation Tools

Nurse educators utilize assessment and evaluation tools to determine the effectiveness of a program and the performance of a student. Educators should be up to date on the latest evaluation tools, and learn to use them effectively to assess student understanding of a given topic. Thereafter, the feedback received from the evaluation tools can be used to further help students and/or alter the educator's teaching methods. I have explored a few assessment tools, which I will discuss in this blog.

ClassMaker

ClassMaker is a professional web-based testing service. This customizable online test maker can be used for business, training, and educational assessment. It is free to register, fairly easy-to-use, and instantly grades tests and quizzes for you. You can also create custom certificates for students. In addition, you can upload files, images, videos, and external websites when creating your test. Here is an example of an image incorporated into a test:

ClassMaker works well with PCs, iPads, iPhones, and other Smart devices. Furthermore, it allows you to view a comprehensive range of statistics for each test, including test scores from highest to lowest or test completion time from fastest to slowest.

In the future, I believe I will utilize this site to create and distribute online quizzes. Here is the link to create your own ClassMaker test/quiz: ClassMaker. Nonetheless, here is a video to learn more about ClassMaker:

Audience Response Systems (Turning Point)

Turning Point is an Audience Response System (ARS) or clicker system that can be used for polling and recording of quizzes into internet grading. It can be used for either the academic or healthcare learning setting. The instructor receives free access and hardware, and the students register and pay a rental fee for their clickers. Moreover, educators can deliver self-paced summative assessments and poll learners from any PC or Mac. Turning Point also includes data collection systems that securely transfers digital data for various assessments and evaluations. In addition, Turning Point provides a convenient, online purchase store made available for students called Student Store . Overall, ARS connects learners with their instructors and immediately assesses the learners understanding of course material compared to other learners. I can see myself utilizing this system in the future. 

QuizStar

QuizStar is a free web-based quiz maker that enables instructors to create, administer, and automatically grade quizzes online. I have found this site to be user-friendly. With QuizStar, an instructor can manage classes and quizzes, attach multimedia files (text, audio, video, and images) to questions, make quizzes in multiple languages, and have multiple classes with their own quizzes. QuizStar makes it easy for instructors to create quizzes and efficiently organize results.

Students must register or the instructor registers them by their email addresses. The quizzes are assigned through the email addresses, and thereafter, alerts can be sent to remind students when quizzes open and close. I plan to definitely use QuizStar to create and give online quizzes to my students.

Here is a video that provides a basic introduction to QuizStar and the features it offers to educators:

Exploring LMS, Simulation, and Screencasting

Learning Management Systems (LMS)

Online learning uses the Internet paired with the capabilities of LMS software to create a learning environment in which a community of learners and educators, as well as clinicians and patients, gather for the purpose of teaching and learning (Billings & Halstead, 2012). This past week, I explored LMS in the academic setting and workplace. In nursing education, online learning is frequently used to offer individual courses and complete degree programs for academic credit. LMS such as Blackboard or Moodle provide educators with set of tools for communication (e.g., chat rooms and discussions). It also includes course information, announcements, and assessment.

In clinical settings, online learning may be used to facilitate orientation to clinical practice, meet requirements for mandatory continuing education, and support career development. In addition, clinical educators can utilized LMS to monitor and manage training performance by employees and/or new hires. IU Health uses the online leaning called eLMS. But recently, I explored Totara, a LMS for the workplace. This site describes and explains how to use the user friendly system: Totara: LMS for Workplace Learning. Nonetheless, before selecting and implementing online education, the organization or institution need to give consideration to important factors which include cost, accessibility, usability, and interoperability. Nurse educators can play an integral part in the decision making when choosing a LMS. They can be extremely helpful with identifying the best practices for selecting, implementing, and evaluating online courses and programs.

Simulation

High Fidelity Simulation (HFS) is being used in nursing education as clinical practice hours. Simulation can enhance a learning environment by promoting interaction with students' minds, the content, and equipment. Nurse educators aid in making learning with simulations meaningful so that students can make connections, problem-solve, and think critically. Assistance is also needed in viewing the clinical situation as a whole rather than as isolated segments of information (Billings & Halstead, 2012). Moreover, nurse educators should take into account the advantages and challenges to simulation when deciding whether to incorporate it into the learning. Here is a insightful site that provides the advantages and disadvantages of simulation in nursing: Pros and Cons of Clinical Simulation in Nursing.

The above video describes and demonstrates High Fidelity Simulation being used at a school of nursing. When using simulation, nurse educators should guide students in understanding the data, explain what the critical issues are, and how the actions relate to the data and the issues. 

Screencasting

I also have explored and did a presentation using screencasting. I enjoyed presenting a screencast and plan to utilize it again for future teachings. According to Hardis & Yee (2010), screencasting decreases the time the learner spends on learning because the presentation can be tailored to each individual's level of understanding. Students are able to skip or fast forward over content already mastered and repeat or rewind to concentrate on more difficult content (Hardis & Yee, 2010). Screencasting can be viewed from any location at any time allowing the student to choose the learning environment and the time of day appropriate for their lifestyle. Here is a brief guide on screencasting:  

References

Billings, D. & Halstead, J. (2012). Teaching in nursing: A guide for faculty. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier. 

Hargis, J. & Yee, K. (2010). Screencasts. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education 11 (1), p. 9-12

Collaboration and Digital Storytelling

Collaboration
Collaboration is a natural part of life and should be included in the curriculum. The ways and means of educating the next generation of nurses must clearly be on the agenda at all nursing schools. Nurse educators must be able to step away from "what has been" to envision "what can be" (Boland, 2012, p. 134). Tools and content that can be incorporated by faculty into their teaching are available. There are variety of collaboration tools that can be used to most effectively support specific teaching and learning goals such as Google docs, Wikispaces, PBworks, and Twitter. Educators are finding tons of innovative ways to use collaborative tools for connecting with people around the world and creating great learning experiences. I have discovered and explored a new collaboration tool called Huddle. It is an online collaboration and project management tool that allows students or employees to easily exchange information and work together on projects in real time, despite distance (Warren, 2014). Huddle offers a free account for those who only need its basic functionality. However, a variety of accounts with advanced features are offered and range from $8 to $200 per month. Here is a link which provides the pros and cons of this online tool: Huddle. Here is also a YouTube video which explains and demonstrate how to use Huddle: 

Digital Storytelling

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you"- Maya Angelou

Everyone enjoys a good story. Traditional stories have been known to inspire and teach lessons. They are now available in more exciting forms. Digital storytelling gives a vivid dimension and makes a story come alive to convey a message or tell a story. It is recognized as a means to accelerate students' oral, visual, and written communication skills by using exercises to express what they know and understand to others (Prairienet, 2011). Digital storytelling can enhance students' learning by allowing them to construct their own learning, create engagement, encourage reflection, and foster project-based learning (Prairienet, 2011). 

Nursing students are individuals with diverse backgrounds and an abundance of life experiences. Utilizing teaching strategies such as storytelling allows students to creatively integrate their experiences into their future nursing practice which may be valuable in facilitating authentic and meaningful connections with patients. Storytelling as a teaching strategy can be a unique method in assisting the personal growth of students by helping them connect to the content of their nursing courses. Encouraging students to express or write about their experiences also helps them develop their own voice in contemplating the many challenges inherent in nursing practice (Pairienet, 2011). 

I have found a useful web-based tool called Digital Storyteller where it guides and helps you create digital stories. It offers instructors and students access to digital images and material that enable them to construct compelling personal narratives. Educators would find this site to be beneficial: Digital Storyteller

Here'a a neat digital story of a student's perspective on storytelling:

I took the pleasure of creating my own digital story by way of Animoto. Animoto enables us to use a combination of photo, text, music, and video to promote and produce the work of students in a unique, creative way. It was fun and user friendly to create and share my video. I would definitely recommend and use Animoto for future projects, teaching, or simply for my personal enjoyment. Here is my video: I Adore the Beach

References
Boland, D.L.(2012). Curriculum design. In Billings, D. & Halstead, J. (Eds) Teaching in Nursing: A 
              Guide for Faculty, p. 119-135, St. Lousi, MO: Elsevier 

Prairienet. (2011). Community connection through technology tools. Retrieved from

              http://www.prairienet.org/op/stories/managing-a-digital-storytelling-project/establishing-the-goal-
              of-the-project/education/

Warren, G. (2014). Huddle review: Online collaboration and project management tool. Retrieved

              from: http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/conferencing-and-collaboration/fr/review-of-huddle-online-

              collaboration-and-project-management.htm.

                 

Learning about Communication and Collaboration tools

The majority of the past two weeks were focused on creating my presentation. I used the fun, eye-catching Prezi for my presentation. This is a web-based tool that allows the user to create a single canvas of text, images, and videos. This was such a freeing experience. I really enjoyed the zooming in and out of words and images to illustrate a concept or relationship. This YouTube video was very helpful when creating my Prezi presentation. It explained and demonstrated how to import images, videos, and music to make a creative Prezi presentation.

   

Here is a my Prezi presentation for your viewing: Preventing Unplanned Perioperative Hypothermia 

In the past two weeks, we also learned about a variety of communication and collaboration tools such as Google Plus and Google Drive.  

Google Plus is a social network website where you are able to communicate with many kind of individuals including learners if need be. With Google Plus, you can have voice or video conversations by way of a feature called "Hangouts". Here is a link which explicates how to start a "Hangout" conversation: How to Start a Hangout Party. Google Drive allows you to share files and links, access them from anywhere, and collaborate with others. Here is a link where it shows you how to create and share new documents, spreadsheets, and presentations and collaborate with others in real time: Create and Collaborate.

Exploring Technology

In the past few weeks, I have been exploring and discovering technology that is quite new to me. I have heard of blogging before, however had never utilized it. Nonetheless, I am becoming accustomed to blogging, and find it rather pleasing and uncomplicated. Diigo is another new technology for me. I had a difficult time figuring out how to operate it; however I am now finding it easy to bookmark interesting articles, readings, and videos. Moreover, I am learning how these new technologies are being used in education. I have come across many great, enlightening articles regarding incorporating technology in education. One in particular that I bookmarked in Diigo was, “Integrating YouTube into the Nursing Curriculum” found in the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. The article discusses and provides information on how YouTube can be effective, user-friendly, and engaging for today’s nursing students. As we are learning in our Instructional Technology in Health Systems course, nurse educators should be innovative and stimulating in order to teach future nursing professionals, and be current with the ever changing health care technological advances. I also have learned in these past few weeks that evaluating technology for a program is essential for ensuring the material and technology being used is effective. There are many tools which are beneficial for evaluating technology. Overall, I look forward to further enhance my computer knowledge and skills, and being able to integrate it in my teaching methods.   

My Journey Towards My MSN Degree

Introduction
Hello! My name is Mary Lou Garcia, and I graduated from Marian University with my BSN in 2006. I am a registered nurse working as a staff nurse in surgery at Methodist hospital in downtown Indianapolis. I enjoy the variety and interesting cases at Methodist such as traumas, emergencies, general, and urology. After working in surgery for a few years, I earned my certification in the operating room. My past work experience includes Labor and Delivery, PACU, and surgery.

Recently, I had a son in October. His name is Sebastian, and he keeps me pretty busy! But I'm enjoying every minute of motherhood. Right now, I'm learning to balance a nursing career, being a new mom, and graduate student. So far, I've realized that it's challenging, but possible!

Currently, I am pursing a master's degree in nursing education. I am interested in becoming a diabetic, maternity, or perioperative services clinical nurse educator; and eventually moving towards obtaining an academic educator position at a university. In the academic setting, I believe I would like to teach obstetrics and gynecology nursing courses. 
A program that I have been focusing on is a program for newly diagnosed diabetic patients. Some learner objectives include:  
1.) The diabetic patient and/or designated caregiver performs self-monitoring of blood glucose using a blood glucose meter and understands the results at a basic level. 
2.) The diabetic patient and/or designated caregiver creates a healthy meal plan that balances glucose levels within a therapeutic range. 
3.) The diabetic patient and/or designated caregiver describes the benefits of regular exercise to promote successful diabetes management.
4.) The diabetic patient and/or designated caregiver demonstrates proper skin and foot care to prevent infection complications.

Thus far, this course, Instructional Technology in Health Systems, has taught me that there are many technology methods that can be utilized for teaching such as video conferences (Skype), twitter, blogging, youTube, and countless others. In addition, Second Life and simulations are also very useful in educating students. I am looking forward to learning more about improving my teaching delivery with new technology teaching methods.