Enhancing Student Interaction Using Social Media in an Online RN-BSN program
Presentation
Overview
Overview
Description
Problem/Purpose: In a response to the National Institute of Health’s call to increase baccalaureate prepared nurses to 80 percent by 2020 online delivery of continuing nursing education continues to explode in the United States (McEwin, Pullis, White & Krawtz, 2013). Online pedagogy that fosters student-to-student as well as faculty-to-student engagement in the teaching/learning process improves outcomes and student satisfaction (LaBarbera, 2013; Foronda, 2014). Social media offers a great potential in nursing education, especially in the online RN-BSN programs. Use of social media will provide nurses (many who work a variety of shifts and live in different geographic locations) enrolled in the online RN-BSN program opportunity to readily dialogue with faculty and other students. The purpose of this research is to explore use of Facebook® in an online RN-BSN course.
The purpose of this pilot study is to answer the following questions:
(a) Does use of social media (Facebook) in an online RN-BSN course influence student-to-student/student-to-faculty interaction?
(b) Does use of social media (Facebook) in an online RN-BSN course impact student satisfaction?
(c) Does use of social media (Facebook) in an online RN-BSN course have an effect on course outcomes?
(d) What are the differences between the uses of social media (Facebook) versus traditional discussion board for case study assignments in an online RN-to-BSN course?
Design: quasi-experimental, descriptive design to determine differences between two groups of RN-to-BSN students enrolled in an undergraduate nursing assessment course.
Setting: online RN to BS course via Blackboard at UNCW
Participants/Target Audience: Nursing Students/Nurse Educators Teaching Online
Methodology: This was a quasi-experimental, descriptive design to determine differences between two groups of RN-to-BSN students enrolled in an undergraduate nursing assessment course. The control group used the traditional Blackboard discussion area to discuss/complete case study assignments and the experimental group used Facebook to discuss/complete case study assignments. Following IRB approval data was collected by the three researchers. Case study discussion were graded by the three researchers after inter-rater reliability was established. Student demographic and satisfaction surveys were distributed at the end of the course to students that consented to participate. Course outcomes used for comparison between the two groups upon completion of the course.
Results/Outcomes:
Findings indicate there is a significant difference in assignment grades in Facebook® (M = 4.53, SD = 0.432, n = 27) and students using Blackboard™ (M = 3.87, SD = 1.18, n=18) with students using Facebook on average scoring higher than those using Blackboard. Results of two-independent samples t-test shows that mean number of follow-up responses differs between students answering discussion questions using Facebook® and students using Blackboard™ (p < 0.05). On average students using Facebook® engaged in more follow-up discussion than did students using Blackboard™.
Implications for future practice: Based on this pilot study Facebook is a viable means to enhance student-student interactions in an online course. Future studies are warranted to explore best practice for implementing the use of Social media in online nursing education.
