My Role As An Emerging Nurse Educator in the 21st Century Age of Technology

              Becoming a nurse educator in this century is an exciting experience as new innovative ways to help students develop deeper learning are being explored and implemented into practice. This transformation in approach to education is the result of the ever-changing health care field, the nursing profession, educational ideologies, and the explosion of technological advances. Contrary the previous traditional classroom, an educator in the 21^st century serves as a facilitator, guiding students on their path to learning. This involves providing the content and activities to assist students in their knowledge development and ensuring these activities are centered on the students. Creating a classroom that encourages active learning as opposed to passive will allow students to become more engaged with the material leading to improved critical thinking, retention, and deeper learning.

            Students, today, have been exposed to technology throughout their lives. They are often comfortable with navigating these tools and are more apt to actively participate in the learner activities when a form of technology is used. Therefore, as an educator I plan to utilize teaching strategies in my classroom with a technology element. As it is still important to base teaching off of the educational theories and principles, I will incorporate these into the technologies used. With the use of online databases and search engines, students will have easy access to materials and resources to contribute to their knowledge. Growing up in a technology era, students are accustomed to immediate feedback and communication. In order to maintain this concept, I will provide continuous formative feedback and provide multiple avenues for communication such as email, phone, and skype. As I utilize technology in teaching strategies, I will choose activities that address each of the six competencies identified by the QSEN project. As a result, students will graduate with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to provide high quality, safe nursing care. 

This video presents the innovative, technological teaching strategy of a virtual clinical simulation. These are web-based simulations where students work through a virtual case study and choose how to proceed. Similar to case studies and simulation experiences, this virtual clinical simulation improves students’ critical thinking and clinical judgement.

Here are additional resources:

Various technological tools for learning

Open educational resources