Instant messaging and nursing students' clinical learning experience.

BACKGROUND: Although learning in clinical settings is a key element of nursing education, for many learners these are challenging developmental contexts often marked by isolation and a lack of belongingness. Despite the massive appropriation of mobile instant messaging (MIM) platforms and the connective properties attendant to them, very little is known about their role in and impact on nursing students' clinical learning experiences. APPROACH AND METHODS: To address this gap, the study, which was part of a multinational research project on the use of mobile social media in health professions education in developing countries, examined the use of the instant messaging platform WhatsApp by nursing students during placements and potential associations with socio-professional indicators. The survey involved a total number of 196 nursing students from 5 schools in Oyo State, Nigeria. RESULTS: The findings suggest that students used WhatsApp relatively frequently and they perceived that this platform strongly enhanced their communication with other students and nurses. WhatsApp use during placements was positively associated with students' maintained social capital with peer students, the development of a professional identity, placement satisfaction and with reduced feelings of isolation from professional communities. The determinants that influenced WhatsApp use during placements were perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. No associations were found between WhatsApp use during placement and age, attitude, subjective norms and placement duration. CONCLUSION: This study is one of the first of its kind that points to the relevance of mobile instant messaging as part of nursing students' (inter)personal learning environments in clinical settings and, particularly, in the development setting under investigation. Further research is needed to corroborate these findings, to enhance the understanding of the impact mechanisms, and to evaluate a more systematic use of MIM in clinical learning contexts.

Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) to support teaching practice: Insights from a nurse tutor program in Nigeria.

Aim: To determine the feasibility of using the Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) platform, WhatsApp, to provide supervision and support for student nurse tutors during a teaching practice placement in Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive qualitative method was used to design and evaluate a six-week WhatsApp group discussion intervention among 19 student nurse tutors. Two pre-intervention focus group sessions (n=9 and n=10) and a workshop were conducted to assess the students' content needs and media usage, and to develop a short online supervisory curriculum. To evaluate the intervention, two focus group sessions (n=9 and n=9) were carried out, transcribed verbatim, and analysed together with the actual WhatsApp conversations using thematic content analysis. Findings: The participants found the WhatsApp-enabled learning space valuable, in particular for the transfer and application of knowledge in their day-to-day teaching practice and, more generally, for their professional development. There were rich and multifaceted indicators of learning and professional development in evidence which were mostly triggered by specific facilitation techniques. The four themes from the WhatsApp conversations are: (1) sharing and discussing "tricks of the trade"; (2) providing direction and triggering reflective (teaching) practice; (3) sparking professional discussions and announcing professional development opportunities; and (4) maintaining a continuous moderating and teaching "presence". Conclusion: Despite some technical challenges centred mainly on the accessibility of the MIM space, the study identified indicators of good supervision practice and the results point to the feasibility and value of MIM to enhance supervision during teaching practice.

Using mobile phones and social media to facilitate education and support for rural-based midwives in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Empirical studies show the value of mobile phones as effective educational tools to support learning in the nursing profession, predominantly in high income countries. PROBLEM STATEMENT: The rapidly increasing prevalence of mobile phone technology in Africa nourishes hopes that these tools could be equally effective in lowly resourced contexts, specifically in efforts to achieve the health-related Millennium Development goals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception and use of mobile phones as educational and professional tools by nurses in lowly resourced settings. METHODOLOGY: A quantitative survey using self-administered questionnaires was conducted of rural advanced midwives. RESULTS: Fifty-six nurses (49.6%) from the 113 rural-based midwives attending an advanced midwifery training programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, filled in a questionnaire. The results showed that, whilst nurses regarded their technology competences as low and although they received very little official support from their educational and professional institutions, the majority frequently used mobile functions and applications to support their work and learning processes. They perceived mobile devices with their voice, text, and email functions as important tools for the educational and professional activities of searching for information and engaging with facilitators and peers from work and study contexts. To a lesser extent, the use of social networks, such as WhatsApp and Facebook, were also reported. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: It is concluded that educational institutions should support the appropriate use of mobile phones more systematically; particularly in relation to the development of mobile network literacy skills.

Informal mobile learning in nurse education and practice in remote areas--a case study from rural South Africa.

BACKGROUND: With the proliferation of portable digital technology, mobile learning is becoming increasingly popular in nursing education and practice. Most of the research in this field has been concentrated on small-scale projects in high income countries. Very little is known about the ways in which nurses and midwives use mobile technology in remote and resource poor areas in informal learning contexts in low and middle income countries. OBJECTIVES: To address this gap, this study investigates whether nurses use mobile phones as effective educational tools in marginalized and remote areas, and if so, how and why. SETTING AND METHODS: In rural South Africa, 16 nurses who attended an advanced midwifery education program, facilitators and clinical managers were interviewed about their use of digital mobile technology for learning. Techniques of qualitative content analysis were used to examine the data. RESULTS: Several rich "organically-grown", learning practices were identified: mobile phone usage facilitated (1) authentic problem solving; (2) reflective practice; (3) emotional support and belongingness; (4) the realization of unpredictable teaching situations; and (5) life-long learning. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that mobile phones, and the convergence of mobile phones and social media, in particular, change learning environments. In addition, these tools are suitable to connect learners and learning distributed in marginalized areas. Finally, a few suggestions are made about how these insights from informal settings can inform the development of more systematic mobile learning formats.

Mobile learning in resource-constrained environments: a case study of medical education.

BACKGROUND: The achievement of the millennium development goals may be facilitated by the use of information and communication technology in medical and health education. AIMS: This study intended to explore the use and impact of educational technology in medical education in resource-constrained environments. METHODS: A multiple case study was conducted in two Nepalese teaching hospitals. The data were analysed using activity theory as an analytical basis. RESULTS: There was little evidence for formal e-learning, but the findings indicate that students and residents adopted mobile technologies, such as mobile phones and small laptops, as cultural tools for surprisingly rich 'informal' learning in a very short time. These tools allowed learners to enhance (a) situated learning, by immediately connecting virtual information sources to their situated experiences; (b) cross-contextual learning by documenting situated experiences in the form of images and videos and re-using the material for later reflection and discussion and (c) engagement with educational content in social network communities. CONCLUSION: By placing the students and residents at the centre of the new learning activities, this development has begun to affect the overall educational system. Leveraging these tools is closely linked to the development of broad media literacy, including awareness of ethical and privacy issues.