Educational Technology Needs
Educational technology is evolving with time because it is not static, so it meets the
demands of the changing population through research and responding appropriately to patients
and nurses. The advanced technology has aided in conducting various nursing research with the
availability of technology such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. These platforms facilitate an
accommodative number of people who share ideologies in making nursing a better practice for
safeguarding people’s lives.
Quinsigamond Community College founded in 1963, has a 2-year nursing program
located in Worcester, Massachusetts. The college prepares learners with the required knowledge
needed for careers as registered nurses. Quinsigamond Community College is using the less
technical methods of researching to better the nursing department by using a website called “The
Q” for virtual clinicals and learning. These traditional methods could be replaced with advanced
technology in delivering knowledge and empowering the nurses to be better every day.
Therefore, in this context, evaluation of the criteria used at Quinsigamond College and the
recommendations that would improve the way of teaching through modern technology is by
using Zoom.
How nurses are currently using educational technology
Quinsigamond Community College’s current educational technology categorically
depends on digital readers and smartphones, which contain information that the nurses are using
to extract knowledge. Quinsigamond’s digital platforms, such as “The Q”, are updated regularly
to give the latest trends in healthcare and to provide virtual clinicals due to the pandemic. The
changes are adjusted accordingly where new findings are derived and personalized for both
education of nurses and care. The information acquired is extracted from cross-sectional and
observatory studies undertaken and recorded in digital spaces, which our nurses quickly access.
The advantage of the current setting is that it provides a centralized source such as “The Q”,
which contains information that is agreed upon by the educational team before administering it to
nurses (Lall et al., 2019). The virtual reality technology used also tends to take the nurses to the
real world, where substances are given a keen eye on Discovery. This enables our nurses to
understand concepts researched through treatment and control findings.
Current state of educational technology compared with the desired state
As mentioned, Quinsigamond Community College utilizes “The Q” as a central source to
relay information to nurses. The progress in time in terms of events that unfold with the
introduction of new technology used for research has surpassed the current technology used at
Quinsigamond. There is the Zoom application, unlike “The Q” that constitutes gathered
information used by nurses to complete clinicals, study and get certifications such as basic life
support skills. The Zoom application is an online platform that accommodates over 300 persons
and is used in connecting the experts to our nurses (Mota et al., 2019). We engage directly with
people from different organizations to acquire more skills to work for the patients so that their
life is better in terms of care and health protection. The video conferencing tool accommodates
many people at once and hence plays a vital role at Quinsigamond.
“A gap analysis is an assessment and evaluation of your exhibition to recognize the
distinctions between your present status of activity and where you might want to be. It explains
the distinction among the real world and the ideal for your association – for example, on
measures where you’re missing the mark regarding an objective – so you can all the more likely
spotlight your assets and energy on those distinguished regions to further develop them” (Smith,
2021, para. 4). The change needed in how Quinsigamond currently use the existing technology is
that the virtual learning should allow more room for opportunity, interaction, and virtual hands-
on skills. Based on Quinsigamond’s retention and NCLEX rates, there is a need for a new
technology solution. To close the gap Zoom could be a great asset for the school by creating an
e-learning program. As mentioned above, Zoom can hold over 300 participants, it also has a
camera function, chat box, and sharing option. All of these functions contribute to a greater
learning experience as opposed to “The Q”. Using Zoom in place of other platforms has been
proven to be successful as stated by Maesaroah. In a study, learners had a 12.46% better outcome
in grades by using Zoom (Maesaroh & Marlena, 2021).
Metrics used to determine the benefits of current educational technology use
The feedback in relation to “The Q” by the student outcomes, helps use the information
in describing the state and level at which the nurses extract knowledge. When using “The Q” for
virtual clinicals (before the COVID 19 pandemic), Quinsigamond’s retention rate was 90%.
Now with utilizing “The Q” due to the pandemic, the retention rates dropped to 72%. In addition,
the NCLEX pass rate dropped from 90% in 2020 to 85% currently. This data allows every nurse
to highlight the area of need and add the necessary knowledge that is lacking as a research
method. These metrics show a clear need for improvement. Utilizing Zoom for clinicals and for
other educational needs could help increase the retention and NCLEX rates. As mentioned,
“Zoom Meeting has a 12.46 % better likelihood of prevailing with regards to supporting
understudies’ learning results compared to other applications such as google classroom
(Maesaroh & Marlena, 2021).” It is clear how beneficial Zoom can be for Quinsigamond learners
and staff.
How the educational technology aligns with the organization’s strategic mission
Quinsigamond’s mission statement is “We are a publicly funded, student-focused
institution of higher learning that offers services and programs for education and training that is
relevant to and sensitive to the many requirements of the region and of the students”. The
advanced technology of using Zoom could significantly benefit the needs of the learners, making
it student-focused. Zoom has enabled a large number of nurses engaging from different
geographical areas to save on more resources such as time, and allows for visual learning (Nes et
al., 2021). The new technology is a user-friendly platform because it allows the user to get
around quickly. This flexibility enables the nurses to contribute while we teach them through
engagement. The navigation allows the nurse to get to other channels of the same field, giving
people a clear view of the nurses from other teams.
Changes to existing educational technology
Despite the current digital platforms and virtual reality technology, some visible
advancement would be made to improve nursing education. The digital platforms should be
expanded, and more nurses should be encouraged to use them effectively through interaction and
exchanging ideas. The Discovery of more platforms such as Zoom can boost education because
nurses can learn from nurses who have opened accounts specifically for teaching and
enlightening nurses on primary education. Virtual reality technology should be practiced where
the nurses are presented with real-life situations and relate to the ones that they acquired from the
technology. Therefore, the recommendations above are geared toward improving lives and
increasing nurses’ education levels in an accommodative market of healthcare practice.
In conclusion, the vast educational technology is growing; hence research and education
given to nurses at Quinsigamond is becoming versatile and should be embraced in the advancing
technology. The certification of nurses for the education gained is becoming meaningful through
the short period taken in acquiring the certificates and approval.
References
Lall, P., Rees, R., Law, G. C. Y., Dunleavy, G., Cotič, Ž., & Car, J. (2019). Influences on the
implementation of mobile learning for medical and nursing education: qualitative
systematic review by the digital health education collaboration. Journal of medical
Internet research, 21(2), e12895.
Maesaroh, S. A., & Marlena, L. (2021). Zoom vs. google classroom: Which is likely more
effective for supporting students’ learning in Mathematics? Beta: Jurnal Tadris
Matematika, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.20414/betajtm.v14i2.430
Mota, N. P., Vieira, C. M. D. A., Nascimento, M. N. R., Bezerra, A. M., Quirino, G. D. S., &
Félix, N. D. D. C. (2019). Mobile application for the teaching of the International
Classification for Nursing Practice. Revista brasileira de enfermagem, 72, 1020-1027.
Nes, A. A. G., Steindal, S. A., Larsen, M. H., Heer, H. C., Lærum-Onsager, E., & Gjevjon, E. R.
(2021). Technological literacy in nursing education: A scoping review. Journal of
Professional Nursing, 37(2), 320-334.
Nurse education. Quinsigamond Community College (QCC). (2022, July 28). Retrieved August
13, 2022, from https://www.qcc.edu/academics/healthcare/nurse-education
Smith, R. (2021, April 01). How To Perform A Gap Analysis In Healthcare. Retrieved August
13, 2022, from https://www.clearpointstrategy.com/gap-analysis-in-healthcare/
