Discussion boards are a standard interactive tool that most professors use to encourage collaboration and engage students in active learning. Video discussions can also be used to reach this same goal. Students in a graduate nursing course were surveyed to see if utilizing different formats for discussions increased student engagement.
In the online classroom, it can be a challenge to encourage collaboration and engage students in active learning. As identified by social learning theorists, Vygotsky and Bandura, social interaction is incredibly important in the learning process. Traditional discussion boards are a standard interactive tool that most professors use to reach this goal. However, with text-based discussions students in an asynchronous environment are still missing the element of being able to actual see and hear their peers. According to Lawrence and Lentle-Keenan (2013), it takes creativity in an online environment to ensure that students are given ample opportunities to collaborate with one another and reflect on their work. It is important for faculty to view the integration of new technologies as a vehicle to improve learner outcomes. A creative tool that can be utilized, in place of traditional discussion boards, is video discussions. Video discussions can improve social interaction by asynchronously allowing students to see and hear their peers, like they would in a traditional classroom, but on their own time. Research was completed to determine if video discussions proved to be a more effective way to engage the online learner.
A convenience sample was used of those students already enrolled in an online graduate nursing course. There were a total of 163 students in all sections. Students enrolled in the course completed the discussions in two different formats. Students completed two traditional, text-based discussions and two video discussions. A survey was sent to all students who consented to be part of the study during the last week of the course, using a tool to measure student engagement/interactivity and peer support. The research results will be discussed during the session along with the implications for online nursing education.
Reference
Lawrence, B., & Lentle-Keenan, S. (2013). Teaching beliefs and practice, institutional context, and the uptake of Web-based technology. Distance Education, 34(1), 4-20.