Nursing Students on Cloud 9: Engaging Students in Their Assessments

1. Nursing Students on Cloud 9:
Engaging Students in Their
Assessments
Dr. Monique Dalziel RN, RM, PhD.,
Christine Dunn RN, MScN.,
& Belma Gaukrodger (Education Technologist).

2. What?
 60 Year 1 Bachelor of Nursing (BN)
Learners.
 Interpersonal Relationships – Therapeutic
Communications.
 Learners were to apply principles of
effective communication to therapeutic
relationships.

3. What?
The Aims:
1. To demonstrate appropriate & professional
communication skills.
2. To highlight strengths and areas for further
development by reflection on the
communication skills demonstrated in the
interview.

4. What?
Each learner participated in a 5 - 6
minute simulated interview with an
actor, to demonstrate appropriate and
professional communication skills.

5. So What?
Due to:
 Limited available videoing equipment.
 A need to engage students in their
assessments.
 A requisite to make learning fun and
interactive.
 An aspiration to embrace a new
technology...

6. So What?
 A decision was made to record the
simulated interview on an iPad.
 The interviews were recorded on an iPad
and saved onto a YouTube channel.
 Learners reviewed their recorded
interview, and reflected on the process.

7. Now What?
 Research shows that there are over 2,500 apps
available for iPhones and iPads. 300 of these
are directly labelled for nursing (Skiba, 2010, p.
319).
 Since iPads are making their way into the health
care arena, we are preparing our future
generation of learners to meet the demands of
the 21st century.

8. Now What?
 Mobile technologies allow learners the
opportunity to enhance learning away from the
traditional classroom setting.
 Technological devices encourage a student
centred approach to learning.
 Engaging with technology supports the
necessary attainment of information technology
competencies that will be required for their
future role as registered nurses (Hansen, 2011).

9. Findings
Learners responses:
“A great way to reflect on my body language
during the interview”
“ It provided me with good insight into
communicating with strangers”
“I learnt how to create an iCloud”
“I felt like I had control over my learning”
“I could see the skills I did well, and the ones I
could improve on”
“It felt like a real interview”

10. Challenges
 Slow Wi-Fi connection = slow upload
 Assumption that the generation of the students
would be technologically savvy.
 Time constraints – needed more hands on
experience with the technology prior to the
interviews.
 Size and location of the media classroom ~ small,
noisy, hot & stuffy.
 Limited size of the iPad screen.

11. Questions

12. Thank you
Monique.Dalziel@nmit.ac.nz
Chris.Dunn@nmit.ac.nz
Belma.Gaukrodger@nmit.ac.nz

13. References
Hansen, M. M. (2011). Are nursing students’ clinical skills competency
and self-confidence levels improved via video iPods? A randomized
controlled pilot study. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice,
1(1), 32-41.
Skiba, D. J. (2010). Back to school: What’s in your students’
backpacks? Nursing Education Perspectives, 31(5), 318-320.
Stein- Parbury, J. (2009). Patient & Person: Interpersonal skills in
nursing (4th Ed.). Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: Churchill
Livingstone.
Usher, K., & Holmes, C. (2006). Reflective practice: What, why and
how. In J. Daly, S. Speedy & D. Jackson (Eds.), Contexts of nursing
(3rd ed., pp. 111-126). Marrickville, New South Wales, Australia:
Elsevier.