Mobile learning in nursing education: catering for students and teachers’ needs

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the implementation of mobile learning in a nursing course at The Open University of Hong Kong, and identify the potentials of, and constraints on, introducing mobile technologies in the instructional design of nursing education. The paper also considers the pedagogical implications of the expansion of mobile learning in the field of nursing. Design/methodology/approach The research adopts a qualitative approach to obtain the students’ and teacher’s experiences, opinions, and expectations on mobile learning. Two focus groups with 20 student participants were conducted and an in-depth interview with the course teacher was arranged. The Framework for the Rational Analysis of Mobile Education (FRAME) model was used as the research framework to support data collection and analysis. Findings The aspects of device usability, interaction learning, and social technology as suggested in the FRAME model were partly fulfilled in the study. Mobile technology enhanced the portability and accessibility of learning information, and networking tools facilitated interaction among students and between students and the teacher. However, the readability of text was limited due to constraints on the user interface and screen size, and concerns over the reliability of learning content were also raised, given the abundance of unfiltered online information. The difficulty in updating the content of multimedia materials and sourcing videos of an appropriate level, together with the problem of device networking, also limited the usefulness of mobile learning. Attention should also be paid to the perceptual differences between students and the teacher on the nature and functions of mobile learning. Originality/value This empirical study provides a detailed evaluation of the delivery of mobile learning in a nursing course. The findings reveal the strengths and limitations of using mobile technologies to support the nursing education.

Nursing Students' Views and Experiences Concerning the Use of Mobile Applications in Nursing Education: A Qualitative Study

“…Concerning the using of the mobile application in nursing education; all of the students reported that it was necessary to have a reminder notification/warning system, to support the mobile application with relevant evaluation questions and to prepare mobile applications for other nursing topics as well (Table 3). In the focus group interviews conducted by Li, et al [26] with 20 nursing students, the students offered that it was necessary to have a student response system and an online evaluation form for student -instructor interaction and to update the videos continuously. In the study conducted by Lee, et al [21], Kang and Suh [24] concerning a mobile application that they developed for nursing students, the students reported that the mobile application was useful and it needed to be developed also in different subjects.…”

“…Considering the studies using mobile applications in nursing education; it is seen that mobile applications increase the students' knowledge and skills [1,4,11,[20][21][22][23][24], enhance their self-confidence [23][24][25], reduce their stress [25], increase their competence [20,21] and enhance their learning motivation [21]. Examining the literature; it is seen that there are mostly quantitative studies evaluating the effectiveness of mobile applications [2, [20][21][22][23][24], whereas there is a limited number of qualitative studies revealing the students' views and experiences concerning mobile applications [18,26].…”

A Four-in-one Teaching Model for Fundamental Nursing Based on UCD Theory

“…Feng [6] applied a multimedia teaching strategy which was developed by three faculty integrating case study, questioning and animation of skills and pathophysiology in the class of infection control at an urban university in the Midwest United States, and found that animation multimedia technology could enhance learning initiative of nursing majors. Li et al [7] designed the learning framework of a Mobile Education (FRAME) model for nursing major at the University of Hong Kong and found that mobile technology improved the portability and accessibility of learning information, and networking tools promoted interaction among students and between students and the teacher. Wang [8] discovered that the students of nursing major tended to entertainmentrelated multimedia teaching equipment, and teacher's application of teaching innovation equipment presented significant positive correlation with students' academic performance.…”

Efl Undergraduate Learners’ Readiness Towards Mobile Learning

“…In recent years, the innovations of mobile technologies are rapidly attracting the interest of educators in various academic programmes to facilitate teaching and learning beyond classroom walls (İlçi, 2014;Warnich & Gordon, 2015;Shadiev, Hwang, & Huang, 2017;Xu & Peng, 2017;Sun, Lin, You, Shen, & Luo, 2017;Ahmad, Armarego, & Sudweeks, 2017;Li, Lee, Wong, Yau, & Wong, 2017;Miglani & Awadhiya, 2017). Nowadays, mobile technology provides teachers with diverse opportunities to deliver interesting learning materials.…”