College nursing program on technology’s edge with pilot project Nursing Instructor Marilyn Lewthwaite used, among an array of technology, a visual enhancer as part of a series of lectures she delivered in a distance education pilot project. The visual enhancer lets an instructor demonstrate intricate techniques to a large number of students, who don’t necessarily have to be in the classroom. D:::: College’s General Nursing Program has taken the college- wide lead in experimenting with distance education applications. Nursing. Instructor Marilyn Lewthwaite has completed a pilot project designed to meld an array of technologies into instruction of a psychomotor skills course. Using interactive television and a variety of other media elements, two groups of students in separate locations simultaneously received instruction. Faculty member Susan Greathouse, who provided support for the pilot project, says that certain technological applications enable instructors to teach in ways they’ ve never done before. “With interactive television we were able to efficiently and effectively link a visual presenter to display images and equipment, show selected video clips, walk through live demonstrations, and incorporate computerized interactive laser disc segments into the classes. Using media in this way technology can enable students to construct their own knowledge.” “The faculty member is a lot like a conductor,” says Lewthwaite. “Technology like this challenges faculty creativity to get the most out of the class. You have to think differently about how you teach, because you have to think about what the students who are not in your classroom are seeing. Also, you don’t see their body language or expressions, which are sometimes the cues that signal the instructor to alter their approach. Technical support is also very important. Maintaining consistent quality audio was a major challenge and is critical.” Evaluations at the end of the project highlighted two major strengths of the delivery system. Students were impressed with the visual presenter for its ability to magnify images, display colour textbook pictures with clarity and display equipment demonstrations clearly. One student said, “I liked how all the equipment could be seen on the screen” (with the presenter), “rather than trying to see the equipment by dodging heads of classmates.” Other students cited the ease with which the instructor could “switch from one thing to another.” Students also noted that if they were unable to attend a class an additional plus was the availability of a video of the entire presentation for review. The majority of students indicated that if they lived a fair distance from the campus, they would take this course by distance and felt they would still receive quality instruction. A small number of students still preferred traditional delivery methods for a variety of reasons. “Overall it seems like a win-win situation for students and faculty. It’s just a pilot, but our hope is to seek funding to continue doing this,” says Lewthwaite. I Thanks from the Foundation The Douglas College Foundation successfully raised over $3000 toward the 1995 Buy-A-Book Campaign and would like to acknowledge the following contributors: Randy Alex Janet Allwork Luciano Anjos Colleen Brown Jean Cockburn Kathleen Danbert Wendy Davies Pat Disher Laurel Donaldson Gail Fraser Wilma Gervasio Amanda Hardman Barbara Hill Chris Johnson Jennifer Kirkey Ralph Lake Kathryn Ledrew-Boyd Vicki Lee Kim Longmuir Mike Mangan Les Marshall Lorna McCallum Colleen Murphy New Westminster Puffer’s Club Carol Niven Sheila Paige Arlene Patko Brenda Pickard Jan Selman Coreen Spring Marty Sulek Christina Symons The Gyro Club of Burnaby Pat Thomasson Mary Thompson Brigid Ting Christine Unterthiner Gert Van Niekerk Wendy Waidson Brenda Walton Susan Wasserman Kate Yoshitomi Elizabeth Zaleschuk I