Nursing Students’ Perceptions and Expectations Regarding the Use of Technology in Nursing Education

Abstract

Technological innovations are changing the face of nursing education, with teachers being expected to integrate best teaching practices in the classroom and to ensure that nursing students are motivated and engaged. Taking into consideration students’ needs is essential to provide successful integration of the technology in teaching and learning. This paper aims to explore nursing students’ perceptions and expectations regarding the use of technology in nursing education. A descriptive quantitative research design was used, and the study was conducted at a selected university in South Africa. A total of 150 nursing students completed the questionnaires, with the data being analysed descriptively using SPSS version 25. The nursing students reported that educators used technology to deliver course instructions (96.7%), and encouraged students to use it for creative or critical thinking tasks (95.3%). They were encouraged by their educators to use their own technology devices (94.7%) and online platforms (94.7%). More undergraduate students perceived that nurse educators used technology at school (15.63 ± 2.54) than postgraduate students (14.41 ± 3.07) (U =1341.00, p = .044). Overall, 77.3 per cent of the nursing students expected the use of technology in teaching, mainly Moodle (88.7%), search tools (75.3%), podcasts and videocasts (66.7%), EndNote (62.7%), and Turnitin (48.7%). The majority of the students (82.1%) from the lower academic levels (first and second year) had a high expectation of the use of technology compared to 71.2 per cent of the higher levels (third and fourth year). The use of technology in teaching requires nurse educators to have adequate skills to make it a powerful tool for teaching and learning. Much more effort should be put in motivating students to use various technological tools, and ensuring that they have adequate skills, particularly at the entry level.

Perceptions and Expectations of Nursing Students Regarding Diverse Technology Based Nursing Education

“…In comparison to 71.2 percent of students from higher academic levels, the majority of students (82.1 percent) from lower academic levels (first and second year) have a good expectation of using technology (third and fourth year). Particularly at the entry level more effort should be put and encouraging students to use different technical resource and ensuring that they are equipped with the necessary skills (Harerimana, A., & Mtshali, N. G., 2019). According to the findings, more than half of the nursing students (57.0%) had a modest level of perception of the quality of nursing courses and advanced technologies, while a minority (10.4%) had a strong level of perception of the quality of nursing courses.…”

“…According to research, one's assertiveness toward technology has a strong effect on one's ability to use it. (Mtshali, N. G., 2019). To effectively incorporate technology into the curriculum, barriers resulting from costs, compatibility, technological problems, and organizational culture must be assessed.…”

“…On a six-point Likert scale, the second segment included six questions about students' perceptions of educators' use of technology. On a five-point Likert scale, the students' expectations for how nurse educators used technology were represented in the third segment, which consisted of 13 items (Harerimana, A., & Mtshali, N. G., 2019).…”

“…All educators should strive to promote and encourage student learning by using instructional strategies and technology to keep students engaged. Another goal is to provide an atmosphere where students can learn safe practices so that when they begin their careers, they will be able to provide high-quality, quality patient care (Harerimana, A., & Mtshali, N. G., 2019). This can be done in a safe and helpful environment at nursing schools to help students achieve meaningful educational results.…”

Integrating nursing informatics into undergraduate nursing education in Africa: A scoping review

“…Information and communication technologies (ICT) have become omnipresent in the healthcare system (Gole et al 2017; Webster 2020; WHO 2019), and since nurses comprise the majority of the health sector workforce, they are required to have adequate skills in nursing informatics (NI) such as using computers, accessing and evaluating digital information, and possessing sufficient information management skills (Ibrahim et al 2019; Robinson‐Bassey & Edet 2015; Sapci & Sapci 2017; WHO 2016). Furthermore, NI includes the use of technology‐enabled hand‐held devices such as smartphones; tablets, wearable technologies, medical monitoring devices, as well as mobile and web‐based health applications (Harerimana & Mtshali 2019a, b; McGonigle & Mastrian 2015; Sermeus 2016; Shin et al 2018; WHO 2018). Nursing education institutions are expected to integrate NI into their curricula to prepare nurses who are capable to use technology in the healthcare environment (Darvish et al 2014; WHO 2016).…”