Why Will My Class Benefit from E Learning for Healthcare vs. Textbooks?

Posted on January 26th, 2012 by Anne Kuser

Many have asked us “Why will my class benefit from e learning for healthcare versus a textbook?” For that reason, I made a nifty little chart that will explain many of the benefits that e learning for healthcare curriculum provides:

Feature	Online Curriculum	Traditional Textbook
Combines essential technology skills with content learning	X
Interactive, engaging content with graphics, video, sound and simulations	X
Narrated multimedia content assists students with poor reading skills	X
Allows for regular monthly updates	X
Accommodates updates in state and national standards	X
Meets a wide range of learning abilities through customization for individual student needs	X
Automated assessment and grading tools, allowing for immediate evaluation	X
Student achievement reporting	X
Supports the “Go-Green” initiative	X

Cheating and Elearning

Posted on January 25th, 2012 by Sarah Layton

Cheating and elearning…is it really any different/easier/more common than other forms of cheating? Is the idea of cheating the biggest obstacle to using elearning tools in your classroom? You are not alone. However, it could be said that, since the earliest days of education, in one form or another, students have cheated.

Of course, once teachers discover cheating, they strive to find ways to stop it.  Many instructors using elearning tools are facing the problem of cheating. We often get asked, “How do I stop my students from cheating?”

First, let’s define cheating. For perhaps a different view on cheating, take a look at our blog: …but that’s cheating! In order for your students to understand what’s acceptable and unacceptable, you need to have a very clearly defined view on what you consider cheating.

Next, take a firm stance in your classroom. Make sure your students know the expectations, rules, and consequences. And make those consequences effective. Have students sign a contract acknowledging that they understand the rules and the consequences. Make it part of your standard Internet Usage policy. When the rules and consequences are clear, it may help deter some of your students.

Inevitably though, some of your students will cheat. Try to determine the most common ways your students are cheating. Are students who take the quiz/test earlier giving other students the questions and answers? Remind the class that if discovered, students will receive a 0 on that quiz/test with no chance to make it up.

A common way students cheat while using elearning curriculum is by having other internet browsers open to view the content. The best online programs have taken measures to help prevent this. For example, when a student is logged into the program and taking a quiz, if they attempt to log into the site through another browser window, they are prompted with a warning screen. This screen gives them two options – to proceed with their login and automatically receive a 0% on the quiz/test or to cancel their login and go back to their other internet browser. This prevents students from directly accessing the curriculum, but does not prevent them from searching other websites.

Other websites will most likely allow students to find the answers they are searching for.  To help reduce this form of cheating, require all quizzes/tests be taken in your classroom, under your supervision. During this time, just as you would with a paper exam, be sure to walk throughout the classroom and keep an eye on students’ work. Make it a policy that no other internet screens can be open during the quizzing/testing time. If you find another internet browser open (regardless of the content) the student earns an automatic 0.

As with all quizzes/test you may have students who try to view another students’ work.  Again, with the best online software, steps will be take to prevent this such as randomizing the order of questions for every quiz/test. This feature though may not be available with other online programs. As with paper quizzes/tests, monitoring the classroom and imposing strict consequences should help deter this.

At the end of the day, while using elearning curriculum, you may not be able to prevent all cheating. With that being said, you may never be able to prevent cheating regardless of the testing method. Take your current strategies and apply them to technology. Take a firm stance on cheating so that your students know there will be serious consequences if caught.

How do you prevent cheating? What consequences do you have in place?

If It’s an Assessment, Does It Have to Be Graded?

Posted on January 24th, 2012 by Angela Shonk

When you speak to a class to present new information, it’s common practice to pause every so often and ask questions to see if students are “getting it”—especially for the most important points. Why is this a good idea?

It gives you a chance to correct any misunderstandings early so that students don’t encode the wrong information into their brains.

It helps to reinforce key concepts.

It may even motivate at least some students to pay attention so they can answer a question when asked.

Questions of this type are known as formative assessment because they occur during the process of learning.

The questions within our lessons function in the same way—they are assessment for learning! They help make sure students understand the material as they acquire new information. In fact, sometimes students learn new information THROUGH a series of questions. This type of interaction is a much more engaging and effective way to learn.

Feedback

With formative assessment, it is critical to give students feedback about their answers. Just telling them they got it wrong is not enough—you have to make sure they can (eventually) get it right. Our lesson questions automatically provide such feedback immediately to each individual student. Specific feedback is more valuable than a number or other score at this point. In fact, assigning grades   while learning is still taking place could actually be detrimental in many cases. And it hinders any opportunity to have students explore new material through questions.

Grades

It is also important to note that while our lessons are not graded, our quizzes and tests are. Students take a quiz at the end of every unit. Since each unit is about 1 curriculum hour (or 45 minutes of instruction), typically students receive at least one grade every class period! That’s a pretty tall order for traditional classroom instruction, given the time it takes to grade on paper. But with our online system, the automatic grading makes this possible. With grades occurring at this frequency, there is even less of a reason to also assign grades for the lesson questions. The corrective feedback is what’s most useful there.

Use and Manage Online Curriculum Products

Posted on January 19th, 2012 by Sarah Layton

So you got the message: use more online curriculum products. But use them how? How do you find them? And how do you begin to manage it all?

If you’ve been asked to include more online curriculum products in your courses, you may be wondering exactly where to start. For some, this can be intimidating. You like your curriculum as it is. You’ve done it this way for years and everything is working just fine. I don’t think there are too many people out there that can’t relate to that.

But what if you are missing something? And, what if it’s easy and exciting and transforms your students’ interest and understanding of your content?

So get started!

Just log on and start searching for online curriculum products. I think you’ll be surprised by the wealth of results that you’ll find.

How do you know if you picked the right product?

Well, you won’t know until you try it out. I recommend that you simply pick something that attracts you. Whether it’s a particular lesson or the delivery style, or the price, whatever speaks to you, just give it a try. Don’t be afraid to be wrong. Most online curriculum products are very forgiving. You’ll likely find a free trial. DO NOT FEAR THE FREE TRIAL!!! Free trials are fabulous. They often give you an authentic experience with the product so that you can determine if it truly is the right product for you and your students. Don’t you wish everything had a free trial? Cars? Homes? Shoes? Mattresses? Wouldn’t it be great to say “no thanks” to that car that just doesn’t seem to be fitting into your lifestyle a month down the road?

If after exploring a free trial, you decide that the product isn’t right for you, simply move on to the next one. As you gain experience with each online curriculum product, you’ll start to hone your hunting skills for what products best meet your needs.

How do you manage your online curriculum products?

Okay, so now that you’ve found one or several online curriculum products that work for you, how do you manage it all?

The best online curriculum products won’t require any management other than getting students the information they need to log on. The best will have simple, intuitive grading data and capabilities that allow them to be seamlessly woven into your existing courses. They log on and do work; you log on and get their grades.

In situations where access to computers or the Internet are limited, managing the online curriculum may jump to another level, but once you adjust and figure out the logistics, you’ll likely find ways to simplify scheduling to make sure your students have the access they need.

Why is Rita Griffith so Successful with Elearning for Health Science?

Posted on January 18th, 2012 by Sarah Layton

Rita Griffith, who teaches the Medical Assistant course at Chesterfield Technical Center, runs a very successful course that incorporates elearning for health science.

Rita Griffith, RN, Chesterfield Technical Center

What is her elearning for health science tool? “We absolutely love HealthCenter21!” says Griffith.

Griffith typically works one-on-one with individual students practicing skills while other students learn with HealthCenter21. “We use it every day in my class. I am so glad our school purchased the curriculum, it makes teaching essential skills so much easier, plus the students enjoy the visual aspects of the program.”

“HealthCenter21 is an excellent teaching tool in that students can be self-directed learners by working at their own pace, allowing for more individual instruction time and demonstration for hands-on skills with the instructor. Students can take notes while working through each unit and have immediate access to their results on unit quizzes, which helps them stay current with their grades.

Griffith explains that the HealthCenter21 curriculum is very effective in aiding students to become self-directed learners and gives them the confidence they need to be successful in the clinical setting. “Students are taking the skills learned in the classroom and applying them directly to patient care,” Griffith says. “Grading is much more manageable with HealthCenter21; there is less time spent on grading papers. I have more time to complete other valuable projects needed to keep my class up-to-date on the ever-changing world of healthcare! Students love it. I love it!  It is a valuable part of my curriculum. Now that I have HealthCenter21, how did I manage without it?!?”

5 Ways of Keeping Students Engaged

Posted on January 17th, 2012 by Ned

Have you ever thought: “My students don’t want to be educated, they want to be entertained!”?

Keeping students engaged in class can be a real challenge for teachers. And students who are bored or distracted can be a disruption to other students as well.

You don’t have to learn to “sing and dance” to engage students in your health science education classes (though it might be fun!).  Instead, try integrating blended learning tools like those included with HealthCenter21 to keep your students interested, motivated, and engaged.

Here are 5 ways to help engage students in your health science program:

Student-Directed Learning

If your students are bored in class, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are boring!  Students have different learning styles, and they often learn at different paces.  Traditional lectures and “lock-step” activities may be too fast for some students and too slow for others.

Try mixing in activities and assignments that students can complete at their own pace, such as the HealthCenter21 online learning lessons.  Assignments can still have “due dates.” But allowing students to control when and how they work on those assignments will help to make sure you are not boring your faster students or leaving your slower students in the dust!

Interactive Exercises

Computers and mobile devices are quickly replacing newspapers, magazines and even television as our primary sources for news and information.  And the main reason is “interactivity.”  Just as we prefer to interact with our information sources, students also want to interact with the instructional materials you provide.

Are there ways that you can transform some of your passive reading or listening lessons?  For example, interactive exercises such as HealthCenter21’s “drag-and-drop” activities” engage students in simple vocabulary lessons by drawing them in as active participants, and providing them with immediate feedback.

Multimedia Content

When large blocks of information must be learned in a short amount of time, “reading assignments” may seem like the only alternative.  But some students have reading difficulties, and others simply refuse to read.

To keep students motivated and engaged with these types of assignments you could try reading to them… (better get out your tap shoes!).  Or you could provide them with multimedia content such as the online content in HealthCenter21.  Through photos, animation, and video, students receive information in a way that is visually interesting.  And narrated text ensures that all students can hear as well as see the written words.

Hands-On Activities and Group Projects

Although multimedia content and interactive activities can be very engaging, students can get too much of a good thing.  (My own kids even take occasional breaks from Facebook and Angry Birds!)  So to keep students engaged it’s important to mix it up.

In health science education, there are lots of opportunities for students to move around the classroom, work with their hands, and to interact with other students.  That’s why HealthCenter21 lesson plans include hands-on activities such as medical skills and procedures practice, as well as small group projects, experiments and role-playing scenarios.

Teacher-Led Presentations and Discussions

Sometimes teachers just have to teach.  In fact, standing in front of your students and sharing your healthcare knowledge and experience with them is often the most valuable blended learning tool of all.  And just because it may be called a “lecture” doesn’t automatically make it boring!

Many teachers are now comfortable using Microsoft’s PowerPoint software with their lectures.  And HealthCenter21’s ready-made PowerPoint presentations can enhance those lectures further with visually appealing graphics and photographs, as well as discussion questions that help transform a one-way talk into a two-way conversation.  Now that’s engaging!

What about you?

What other methods have you tried to help motivate and engage your health science students?  What worked for you, and what didn’t work so well?  We would all love to know!

Are Your Elearning Lessons for Health Science a Slice or the Whole Pie?

Posted on January 13th, 2012 by Sarah Layton

What is the makeup or your class itinerary? Are your elearning lessons for health science a slice of your class time or the whole pie?

Over the past 5 years, I’ve talked with so many teachers using blended learning in their classrooms. The ways in which instructors incorporate elearning lessons for health science is nearly as unique as a snowflake or your fingerprints. And yet, a common thread of understanding runs through them all: an understanding of their classrooms and what is best for their students.

Just a Little Sliver, Please

Some instructors and their students do best when everyone is working together at the same pace. In these classrooms, the instructor may do a lot of lecture and discussion. This instructor tends to want to have the most control over the curriculum and its delivery to the students. And yet, these instructors also understand the importance of blended learning and elearning. These teachers most likely only include elearning lessons for health science as a tool to allow students to review what has been covered or to prepare for a quiz or test.

A 1/8^th Hearty Slice, Please

Like a pie cut perfectly into 8 equal slices, other teachers prefer a “perfectly” balanced combination of instructor-delivered and elearing-delivered instruction.  These instructors may include elearning lessons for health science as the primary source of content delivery. Once students complete their elearning, they’ll gather as a group so that the instructor can add any additional material not covered by the elearning tool. The instructor may use this time to gauge how well students have mastered the content and reinforce those items where learning appears weak. Additionally, the instructor will work together with students to master skills.

The Whole Pie, Please

Other instructors for geographical or scheduling reasons use elearning lessons for health science as THE content for the course. These instructors may only see students face-to-face a few times during the course, if at all. Teachers who are in a distance learning situation may rely solely on elearning for their students’ content delivery. With experience and flexibility, these teachers and students make this scenario work.

So, what are you serving your students? Is it time to try something different?

“Nurses Eat Their Young”

Posted on January 11th, 2012 by Lisa Thomas

My Story

“But, I’m the Nursing Supervisor,” Sandy said to me, as she quickly passed my desk into our storeroom.

I was working as a buyer for a hospital.  I was also the gate-keeper to the storeroom.  My job was to make sure employees weren’t going into the storeroom and taking whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted.  We had a policy in place to requisition items.  When items were needed in an emergency, we did allow employees to take what was needed, however I also had to make sure these items were signed out correctly.

I followed Sandy down the aisle to the disinfecting wipes.  I continued to try to talk to her, but she was already helping herself to the wipes.  After much questioning from me, she stated another supervisor in her office had been sick and she wanted to take disinfecting wipes to sanitize her office.  No code blue, no surgery was being performed; to simplify it, she wanted to clean her office.

I calmly explained that she would need to enter a requisition for this item and once approved, we would deliver the product to her.  Over and Over again she kept repeating that she was the Nursing Supervisor, as if that granted her unlimited access to supplies.  When she realized that title wasn’t getting her anywhere, she stormed back out of the office and threatened me by saying she was going to our Chief Nursing Officer.

It wasn’t the only time during my position that I experienced someone trying to use his power to intimidate me.  Being new to the healthcare field, and relatively new to this city, I began to think that maybe the new city I was working in was full of not-so-nice people.

Bullying in Nursing

This week I read an article on the prevalence of bullying in the nursing workforce (Are You Teaching Your Students Strategies Related to Bullying in the Nursing Workforce?).  From there, I was directed to Center for American Nurses. I was surprised to see this is such a pressing issue that Center for American Nurses offers webinars, publications, fact sheets, etc. to help educate others.  I then did a general search on bullying in nursing and was overwhelmed by the number of articles that have been published.

Bullying affects not just the victim.  The victim, who may have been an excellent employee, may leave his job.  This could lead to staffing shortages which in turn directly affects patient care.  When they know these behaviors are not stopped, the general morale of the staff will be negatively impacted.  This can lead to employees being depressed, dissatisfied with their careers, more absences from work, and eventually may lead to more healthcare workers leaving the already short-staffed field.

While in my role in the healthcare field, I could easily give you a dozen instances where someone attempted to bully me.  Given my past work experience, I was prepared to handle the situations.  Are your students prepared?  Will they be able to recognize bullying when they join the healthcare workforce?  Will they know how to react to both being a witness to bullying and/or being a victim to bullying?

How do you cover this topic in your classroom?

Health Care Quizzes and Critical Thinking

Posted on January 9th, 2012 by Joe

Every so often, we are asked if our Health Care quizzes test “critical thinking” or just memorization.

Before answering this question, let’s do a quick review of Bloom’s taxonomy. Bloom classified cognitive behavior into six levels. The six levels of the revised Bloom’s taxonomy are listed below from the lowest level – Remembering – to the highest level – Creating:

“Critical thinking” can generally be associated with the five higher levels. The Remembering level is the ability to recall information from memory, and is normally not associated with critical thinking. However, even though Remembering is the lowest level, it’s important to realize that it is key to building the higher levels.

When designing our curriculum, we understand the need to assess the different levels of cognitive thought. Additionally, we need to use the best type of assessment for each level.

HealthCenter21 is a blended learning solution for health care, with online content as well as hands-on activities. The online content contains auto-assessed quizzes that cover the lower levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. The hands-on activities are teacher assessed and cover the higher levels.

A majority of the on-line assessment deals with ensuring students can recall information (Remembering level). For example, in the “History of Health Care” unit, the content talks about the “Father of Medicine”. A Remembering level question was created based on this content:

Who is known as the “Father of Medicine?”

• Aristotle
• Hippocrates (Correct)
• Rhazes
• Claudius Galen

This question is simple, direct, and tests whether or not the student can recall a fact. Remember, all higher levels of cognitive thought require a good foundation in recalling information.

However, a portion of the online assessment cover higher levels of thinking by asking questions that require critical thinking. For example, in the “Introduction to Infection Control” unit, the content presents the “chain of infection”. An Application question was created based on this content:

Sandra has the flu, but she goes into work anyway. Within a few days, her co-worker Olivia gets sick with the flu. In the chain of infection, what is Olivia?

• The causative agent
• The reservoir
• The portal of exit
• The susceptible host (Correct)

The student has to apply the “chain of infection” definition to scenario. These types of questions general cover the Understanding, Applying and Analyzing levels.

So, the answer to the original question – does your questions test “critical thinking” or just memorization – is “yes” and “yes.” A portion of the online quiz questions do test critical thinking in the lower levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. And, the majority of the quiz questions test recall of information.

But, as mentioned earlier, HealthCenter21 is designed to be a blended learning solution for health care courses.  So, students are given other assessment opportunities outside of the online content to demonstrate higher levels of thinking. The materials for the hands-on activities such as skill demonstrations, role plays, research, etc. are available in the Teacher Resources. These Teacher Resources are found on the Course Setup page.

The Importance of Media in Computer Application Lesson Plans

Posted on January 6th, 2012 by Kristin Savko

Have you ever seen the Angel Oak Tree in Charleston, SC? It’s thought to be the oldest tree east of the Mississippi river. The tree is old–between 1400 and 1500 years old. And it’s huge. While it doesn’t win any awards for its height, its canopy provides over 17,000 square feet of shade and its longest limb is 89 feet long. The canopy is actually so large that when I went to see the Angel tree, it was difficult to get a photograph of the whole tree in my camera’s viewfinder.

Tomorrow, you forget that I even told you about this incredible tree.

You may have this same issue in your classroom. You develop and teach your computer application lesson plans, but you can’t always control what your students’ remember. But if I show you a photograph of this massive tree, I just increased your chances of remembering.

Similarly, in the classroom, using good images to illustrate your computer application lesson plans can not only improve your students’ understanding of the subject, but make it more memorable. Media helps students visualize a lesson and turn your content into easy-to-remember objects.

There are a number of ways to do this, but my favorite is through the use of metaphors. A graphic metaphor is especially powerful  for memory because it takes knowledge the student already has and uses it as a scaffold for building new knowledge. True learning takes place as you build connections to that information, helping a student retain the lesson long-term.

A good example in computer application lesson plans is the use of images to represent portrait or landscape page orientation. The use of a solid graphic metaphor makes the concept easier to understand by making connections to things the student already knows–portraits of people and outdoor landscapes.

Building on their previous knowledge through the use of images, students can use the metaphor to help visualize the concepts, making them easier to remember. The comparison wouldn’t be nearly as strong if you were to simply try to explain the metaphor to your students. It’s the visual representation that really hits it home.

Do you find metaphors effective in your classroom?  Do you have a favorite?