Introduction
The teaching experience is talking about “oneself”, it is something that the teacher has gone through at different moments of pedagogy, it is the “what to do as a teacher”; although it cannot be said that everything that has happened to us is “experience”, but it can be said that it is an experience when there is a change or a transformation and learning.
Teachers are prepared with methods, strategies, knowledge, behaviors, theories, or values in order to know how to teach; the teacher must know the context and realities of the students; for learning to be meaningful. As of December 2019, with the appearance of the new pandemic, the world took a turn with the way of teaching, although it is true that digitization and virtual tools were used and were already part of the training to build a digital educational world, as of 2020, teachers had to reinvent themselves to provide distance learning, without face-to-face classrooms for health reasons, considering the necessary social isolation. In this research, a bibliographic review was carried out that will show the experiences prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the current experiences of teachers who teach the nursing profession.
As a research question, it was defined: What are the experiences of teachers with digitalization in the teaching of the nursing career?
Method
The research was carried out with a bibliographic review, the studied databases were: Ebsco, Scielo, Redalyc, Dialnec, Google academic; we worked with the Pico model to structure the research question, among some of the search words were: teaching experience, nursing teachers, virtuality, teachers and ICT, nursing teaching experience, nursing teachers and digitization (related or similar terms). The inclusion criteria were: articles in English and Spanish, described between the years 2016-2022, qualitative methodology, and research aimed at nursing students or the Faculty of Health Sciences. The authors are from the countries of: Canada, New Zealand, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Australia, Norway, Lambayeque Region, Argentina, and Ecuador.
A total of 9 articles were selected for the literature review after selecting the titles, abstracts and reading the full text
Results
As a result, four main categories were identified to respond to the identified challenges; teachers can have positive and significant experiences with digitization to teach in nursing careers, the categories are: Greater efficiency in teaching, positive attitude, incapacity in teaching, and change in work demands.
The first main category identifies greater efficiency in teaching with the use of digitization that provides an advanced learning process, while achieving continuity and achievement of objectives (1). Most teachers perceive ICTs as valuable resources for nursing training, changing the focus of education, providing alternative means of communication that allow students to submit assignments online (3) and build and share knowledge through mobile (4). One of the experiences is the transfer of knowledge, creating easy access to information (3), providing a welcoming learning environment using virtual tools that could complement clinical practice (1).
According to teachers, different interactive platforms can be used to achieve meaningful and collaborative learning (1). Teachers were satisfied with learning outcomes and student participation creating a supportive learning environment (1) using different visual and auditory learning styles, and kinesthetic (4), for example view 3D images such as the organs of the human body (3).
One of the experiences of teachers is that digitalization is creating optimized collaboration and communication. The teachers emphasized that students must participate in the process of applying new technological learning methods, making use of the cell phone as a tool for student-teacher interaction (3). It is also possible to answer quickly to students’ emails or other messages (3), digitization allows you to be in different scenarios and countries in twenty-four hours, without physical mobility difficulties, sharing with professionals from all over the world with the use of virtual tools and platforms (1).
The second category is the positive attitude that teachers can use in each activity they develop, the participation of students in teaching through ICT gives satisfaction to the teacher (3), creating a positive attitude to digitization. Virtual platforms and ICT are essential for nursing education and the teacher feel they need to try something new every year (3), innovating the little things (8). It is a self-directed act (3), and a personal effort is a learning experience (4).
Thus, a third main category was identified as incapacity in teaching, digitization, as well as its benefits and its challenges for the teacher, on some occasions it is difficult to achieve an active discussion with students who are not prepared for the use of virtuality (6), likewise, it is described as a subcategory and that is the incompetence in digital pedagogy, teachers they have acquired knowledge of ICT for their own interest and consider that digital tools should not replace face-to-face learning (7). Teachers reported that they had only little experience in using digital tools in teaching (1), they were unsure about the purpose of using digital methods (6), and they expressed their reluctance to place themselves in vulnerable situations (5). According to the teachers there are no educational methods available to use e-learning and they reported an absence of guidelines (2, 3), but they felt they could feel comfortable using pedagogical simulation if they receive training, guidance, and support (2, 5).
The teachers express the need for technical support. They report that on several occasions they are lonely with technical problems (2, 8), since they receive little or no experience or training in the use of the equipment (2, 8). Likewise, there was no information available on the use of the applications (4) and it was teachers who had to advice students how to use the applications (6). They felt they must fight to get the resources they need (5), and they were expressing anxiety due to the lack of Internet connection or loss of connection (5), and they wanted annual training to stay current in simulation skills (5); in the absence of these skills, credibility can be lost in the eyes of students (2). Teachers also reported about situations when they themselves could not put a simulation into practice and use the teaching and learning forum (8). From the barriers that were visualized at the beginning in the use of technology, they have become routines to teach and learn; teachers expressed their desire for regular training with the equipment, tools, strategies, and digital platforms to ensure their simulation skills (5).
The fourth main category is described as the change in work demands, where changes in work requirements teachers experienced anxiety about simulation expectations (5), they had to reflect creativity (8) and flexibility (8, 9) in small things, turning the virtual classroom into a dynamic and interactive way (8), with the ability to adapt content in digital environments to the needs of students (8), becoming a videoconference coordinator, content producer, technical problem solver and the owner of technological devices (9) for everyone to use. In addition to all this, teachers felt that they were becoming a remote psychologist (9).
Added to this is the changes in workload that adds taking the time to learn and manage the tools (3, 5, 8), including using the cell phone to its fullest capacity (4), more time was needed to prepare the simulation (9) and answer the e-mails (4). In the other hand, teachers admitted that virtual meetings save time (7) and exchange of simulation scenarios between teachers, and a bank of scenarios (5) reduces teacher’s workload. One teacher emphasized that resources were key to success, he considered that e-learning is a financial investment from the organization in teachers to provide learning to students of the nursing profession (5).
Conclusions
- The teachers had the experience of using digitalization sharing the educational process with greater efficiency in teaching, using strategies, tools, and technological resources that facilitate continuity and they achieved the achievable objectives that help the transfer of knowledge.
- Most teachers perceive ICTs as valuable resources for nursing training, changing the focus of education and providing alternative means of communication and information.
- The professors presented a positive attitude through the use of ICTs and virtual platforms, feeling satisfaction and creating positive digitization scenarios that today are essential for nursing education.
- Teachers have challenges with the use of digitalization and sometimes even incapacity in teaching, due to the preparation, motivation, interest of the students and the same teachers sometimes face deficiency in digital pedagogy, much of the knowledge acquired is due to their own interest; a need of the teachers is the technical support; They refer that on several occasions they felt alone with the technical problems.
- Teachers experienced an increase in work demands because they had to reflect creativity in small things, converting the virtual classroom into a dynamic and interactive way, adapting content in digital environments to the needs of people (students), adhering to the problem-solving process. technicians and the owner of technological devices for everyone to use; add to this the financial investment that was a determining factor in the teaching-learning process.
- According to the literature review, teachers and students need to be trained with health technologies and the Smart Nurse project has provided technological resources, development of digital skills that strengthen the teaching-learning process with the application of active methodology to develop competencies in nursing students and professionals who provide care to the person with non-communicable diseases, family and community.
References
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