Paper
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Diffusion of Innovation: Integrating Handheld Technology into Nursing Education
Kathleen Williamson, PhD, RN, Nursing, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| Learning Objective #1: Describe innovative ways to integrate the use of the PDAs into a nursing curriculum. |
| Learning Objective #2: Discuss how PDAs are an effective tool for students and faculty in the classroom and clincial setting. |
The use of handheld devices is being introduced with increased frequency in many health care settings including nursing education. Integrating technology in nursing education is essential in order to prepare the student in an environment comparable to the nursing practice setting. Evidence based practice requires validation of the benefits of integrating technology use in nursing education. Faculty support through creative instructional design and the development of realistic scenarios is essential for the success of integrating handheld technology into nursing education. The purpose of the study was to assess if Personal Digital Assistants (PDA’s) affect student information seeking behavior in the clinical and classroom setting. The study addressed, if and in what way can PDA’s be integrated into the nursing curriculum with efficiency. A qualitative approach was used to evaluate the use of PDA’s by nursing faculty and students. The participants were able to supply information on the use of the PDA hardware and software that was used in the classroom and clinical setting. Data was collected from journals that faculty and students completed and coded for how they used the PDA in the classroom and clinical settings, experience with using PDA (strengths and weakness of device and software), time it took to locate information, how students view faculty use and faculty view students use, how does faculty incorporate PDA use in the classroom and clinical settings, and user and product satisfaction. The study assessed student learning and how PDA technology was able to help students and faculty make critical decisions. The findings of this study established ways to integrate PDA technology into the nursing program. The faculty and students found creative ways to use technology that would benefit the educational program. The outcome from this study was the integration of handheld technology into the undergraduate and graduate nursing program curriculum.