Evaluation of virtual classroom technology using Blackboard Collaborate for Masters of Nursing Cancer/Palliative Care distance education students at La Trobe University.

1. Evaluation of virtual
Title of presentation classroom technology:
Name of presenter student engagement and
implications for
Title of presenter
satisfaction./ Division
School / Faculty
xx Month 201x
Liz Pascoe - Stream Coordinator, Masters in Cancer Nursing
Austin Clinical School
Sharon Karasmanis, Faculty Librarian (Health Sciences)
6 December 2013
latrobe.edu.au
CRICOS Provider 00115M

2. The Students:
• Masters of Nursing (Breast Care) and
Masters of Nursing (Cancer/Palliative Care)
• Postgraduate return-to-study mature age
students
• Distance education!
La Trobe University
2

3. The Challenge!
• To deliver educational instruction in real time
• To help students to transfer existing skill base
to the academic research environment
• To teach students how to conduct systematic
searches of the health databases to locate high
quality evidence!
La Trobe University
3

4. The Tool - Blackboard Collaborate!
• Virtual classroom
• Educational learning technology
• Educational instruction in real time
• Excellent for remote/distance students
• Session recordings available
• Easy to connect!
• Example on next slide
La Trobe University
4

5. La Trobe University
5

6. The Evaluation
• Evaluate the efficacy of BC as learning medium
• Online survey contained Likert style responses,
quantitative and qualitative feedback
• Three sections:
• Student experience in using Collaborate
• Student perception of impact on learning
• Student attitude towards research
La Trobe University
6

7. What did we learn?
• Quantitative:
• BC: ease of use 94% rated OK to very easy
• Ratings from Important to Most Important
• Real-time engagement - 78%
• Session content - 83%
• Social interaction – 61%
La Trobe University
7

8. What did we learn?
• Qualitative comments:
• ‘Keep in touch with what other students were
doing’. ‘Evaluate how others were travelling’
• ‘Recordings helped to alleviate feelings of isolation
… distance education learner’
• ‘It gets so lonely being out here in the desert
[Broken Hill] … so isolated’. ‘Being able to connect’
• ‘Used the session recordings as a sound base for
assignments – would have struggled without
them’. ‘Helped me refocus …if I was bogged down’
La Trobe University
8

9. Student attitudes towards research
• Confidence in library research skills:
• Conducting database searches for health
literature: 94%
• Knowing how to reference a source: 88%
• Revising the search strategy: Somewhat
Difficult to Somewhat Easy
• Finding full text articles: 100%
La Trobe University
9

10. In Conclusion …
• BC enabled delivery of complex educational
activities in real time
• Recordings scaffold the session content
• Facilitates the key androgogical principle of
being self-directed
• Enables students to
connect!
La Trobe University
10

11. Thank you
• Connect
• Confidence
• Learn
latrobe.edu.au
CRICOS Provider 00115M