Flexible learning Activity 4 -  Access, Equity, Diversity & inclusiveness in education.

I will address these four concepts separately in flexible learning (FL) for nursing education;

Access – with reference to FL, access means amongst other things, access to computers and other technology. Nurses use technology all the time, from working in intensive care units to accessing patient information on computer-based programmes. Nurses need to be able to use technology for not only their learning needs but also for safe nursing practice. One of the earlier blogs that I read discussed the difference between technologically naïve students with technologically competent learners. Honey and North (n.d.) clearly state that a “key issues identified to impact on health care and nursing education in the future was technological advancements which is similar to trends internationally. New Zealand nurses need to be prepared for increased use of technology in the health arena. Preparation includes knowledge, skills and attitudes, and the necessary preparation needs to commence at the undergraduate level of nursing education, and continue through education at the postgraduate level.” (p.2).   Honey and North go on to say that flexile learning offers students a way of accessing on-going education for students regardless of their personal and work commitments.  They say that the 4 characteristics of FL are; 

1. choice of study mode and methods,

2. access to course material and lecturers at different times and ways,

3. students taking self-responsibility for their learning in their own environment and

4. use of technology.

Flexible learning allows the students a choice in place of study; time of study; approaches to learning; availability of courses (including on-line courses); their own pace of learning; access to lecturers and their peers; and modes of delivery.

Equity - Refers to all the students to access the 4 characteristics of FL. It clearly allows the student to undertake their study independently and at their own pace. However, there are limits to this; in particular, nursing students are required to submit assignments and meet terms by specific dates. All students are required to have access to their own computers and with broadband being available for the majority of people; students can have access to on-line learning opportunities to undertake their assignments. This means that all students should be competent with technology, yet some of our students are technologically naïve or computer literate, particularly in their first year. This leads onto the diverse methods of teaching and learning.

Diversity - Sharma and Mishra (2007) discuss FL to educational resources from outside the institution. FL provides increased interaction with students via different means, including email, discussion forums web-based programmes etc. via internet or computer-based learning. Diverse technologies can be interactive and a dynamic way of teaching and learning. Diverse technologies that Tom Cochrane discussed in his forum included the use of mobile devices including iPads, smart phones, cameras, personal digital assistants (PDAs). This was a fascinating discussion, however it made me realise that I am personally way behind many of the modern use of technology. I knew about podcasts, but haven’t accessed many other than from National Radio; and I know about UTube and have used this for getting me up to speed with some of the technological or clinical skills used in nursing, but haven’t used either of these forums in my own teaching yet.  I have recently accessed an iPad (wireless) which has allowed me to improve my ability to respond to students at anytime. However, following on from a meeting with Bronwyn and other FL learners, and with the thought about being involved with Bronwyn’s research, I asked my first year tutorial group how many students had smartphones and only 6 of the 18 had these devices; with many not knowing what a smart phone was. I can see the potential for students to work in teams to complete a community profile using mobile devices, however to refer back to equity, all students would be required to have them to ensure they had the capacity to be equally involved. This leads onto inclusiveness.

Inclusivity: is closely related to equity and to means that all students are included in access to learning. In other words all students need to be technologically prepared, and lecturers need to be prepared for e-learning. E-learning is defined as: “an approach to teaching and learning, representing all or participants of the educational model applied, that is based on the use of electronic media and devices as tools for improving access to training, communication and interaction and that facilitated the adoption of new ways of understanding and developing learning”  (Sangra, Vlachopoulos & Cabrera, 2012)

References:

Honey & North (n.d) Supporting Workforce Development of Nurses- Exploiting the Synergies between Technology in Education and Practice. Retrieved from: www.hinz.org.nz/journal-pdf/1003.

Sangra, A., Vlachopoulos, D., & Cabrera, N. (2012). Building an inclusive definition of E-learning: An approach top the conceptual framework. International Review of research in Open and Distance Learning. Retrieved from; www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrod1/artcile/view/1161/2146.