Evaluation of a LMS requires many criterion and determining which criteria "weigh" more than others. I discovered a free Excel download of an evaluation rubric already created by Learning Management System K-12. The rubric contains many of the criteria listed in our class discussion forum this week. Focus on the ease of use for both the learner and instructor are listed, as well the training time and ongoing support offered by the vendor. Learning Management System K-12's blog also includes a timeline guide for educators and administrators to utilize when preparing for such a large project. The basic outline is pictured below:
Simulation
Simulations provide nurse educators with an adjunct to clinical experiences. Many times critical events, such as cardiac arrest, do not occur during the student's clinical time. Also, students may never experience a nursing error due to the high vigilance of instructors. Simulation allows students to experience these events in a safe environment with no risk to patient well-being (Jefferies & Clochesy, 2012). One of the main challenges for implementing simulation is the nurse educator's lack of experience or knowledge of developing simulations (Jefferies & Clochesy, 2012). Fortunately, many simulations have already been created and are free to nurse educators. Montogmery College in Maryland created a nursing simulation scenario library with videos and PDF guides to assist educators in preparing scenarios and evaluating learning. The following video is a scenario in the library regarding an unwitnessed patient fall.
I chose this scenario to share because it varies from the common critical care scenarios I have seen developed. Patient falls are a nursing measure, thus the simulation is important for both students and practicing nurses. Furthermore, the video utilizes the SPLAT method for documenting patient falls and reporting them to a physician. More information on the SPLAT method can be found at Cathy Cress, MSW blog.
Glogster
As I search for new ways to present information, I discovered Glogster while reading an article titled "UsingWeb 2.0 Tools to Balance Work, Life, and Term Papers." The author, Rochelle Franklin describes life as a PhD student and online instructor and how she was able to simplify her life with Web 2.0 tools. One of the tools she utilized was Glogster. The application allows one to create interactive posters with videos, links, text, and pictures. Franklin loaded her screencasts to one Glog providing her students with a single place to access all the videos. Taking inspiration from this article, I created a Glog about the services offered at the UIndy library. The Library Glog is part of an ongoing project myself and other classmates created last semester, the LAUNCH program. A portion of the program is dedicated to assisting students become familiar with the library and how to perform database searches.
Glogster posters look amazing when they are finished, however the application is not user-friendly. The edit boxes will tell the user to "drop in" images, but the application does not actually allow the drop feature. The images must be uploaded via the "magnet" toolbar, then selected for each box. Also, to edit the text within the boxes, the user must double click the box, select edit text, and navigate away from the pop-up screen to the actual text box. Surprisingly, the easiest portion was uploading the YouTube videos. The "magnet" toolbar links directly to YouTube allowing the user to perform a simple search, preview the video, then insert into the Glog. Another drawback is the inability to embed the Glog in this post. Glogster offers an embed code, but I have embedded the code three times with no success. Finally, as a student I received a 30 day free trial. After 30 days I will need to pick a package ranging from $39-390 per year. Glogster does provide audio, video, text, and URL links to provide an interesting presentation of information, but due to the difficulty I experienced creating the Glog I will most likely not purchase a subscription.
The Library Glog I created can be viewed here
References:
Franklin,
R. (2011). Using Web 2.0 Tools to Balance Work, Life, and Term Papers. Distance
Learning, 8(3), 31-34. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.uindy.edu/login?url=
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=67744837&site=ehost-live
Jefferies,
P. & Clochesy, J. (2012) Clinical simulations: An experiential,
student-centered pedagogical approach. In Billings, D. & Halstead, J.
(Eds.) Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for
Faculty (p.352-369). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
