Computers in the Faculty of Health Science—5 years on

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Abstract

In 1989, the Faculty of Health Science at Central Queensland University (CQU) committed itself to a major instructional development project for its nursing education program. Partially supported by a National Priority (Reserve) Fund (NPRF) grant, the Faculty undertook a multi-year project to develop computer-based learning materials. The success of that project was mixed. However, by 1993 staff and students within the Faculty were using computers regularly, many of the staff were involved in developing computer-based instructional materials, and some staff were using available computer-based tools to extend the scope of the standard Health Science materials developed under the project. As well, the Faculty was committed to using Faculty funds for technical support staff to maintain its computer infrastructure and to assist both staff and students in using that infrastructure. The authors review the original NPRF project, then explore the Faculty's continued development and use of computer-based learning materials through an examination of student and staff evaluations, personal recollections, and subsequent projects. This paper demonstrates that the NPRF project spawned a number of other computer-based developments, including the offering of health informatics degree programs at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, the development of the Faculty's current Internet site and a CD-ROM based interactive multimedia project for diabetes education. It also demonstrates that moderate levels of funding can maintain a computer-literate Faculty which views computers as essential tools for learning.

Introduction

Central Queensland University (CQU) provides undergraduate and postgraduate education to over 10 000 students studying on campus and through its five regional Queensland campuses and six international centres. Lectures for campus-based students may be delivered via video conferencing or audiographic facilities; teleconferencing and electronic mail discussion groups provide regular contact for many students; and individual lecturers are experimenting with flexible learning technologies including web-based resource materials, Internet CHAT and the electronic submission of assignments.

In 1989, the fledgling Faculty of Health Science, CQU, committed itself to a major instructional development project for its nursing education program. While the project, funded both by a National Priority (Reserve) Fund (NPRF) grant and the University, led to the development of some computer-based learning materials, it was more instrumental in the Faculty's widespread adoption of information technology (IT).

The funded project, completed in 1992, was examined by one of the authors from the perspective of the project participants [1]. He identified some of the deficiencies of the project and its management, how they were resolved, and their consequences. As the CAL/CML (computer assisted/managed learning) Academic Coordinator (1993, personal communication, 23 February) indicated:

‘In hindsight, we've done at least two-thirds of what we started out to do—and the base is there—staff are committed to CAL. Some of them will never do any CAL development themselves, but they are all committed…The real benefit is to the students. They are getting the benefit of the materials developed and in the pipeline’.

The other author was employed for several years in the Faculty support role, providing hands-on formal computer training for staff and students as well as informal hands-on support to individuals, developing and testing new computer-based learning materials, and developing both multimedia and web-based materials. This paper reviews the original project and reports on subsequent developments.

Section snippets

CAL/CML in the Faculty of Health Science 1989–1992

The establishment of the Faculty of Health Science and the Diploma/Bachelor of Nursing program resulted from the 1990 shift of pre-registration nursing education in Queensland from hospitals to the university sector and the demand for post-RN degree completion programs. The foundation Dean of the Faculty was an ‘early adopter’ [2]of the use of computers, specifically microcomputers, in both education and university administration, and had a vision of how they could be used to enhance learning.

Computer-based learning in the Faculty of Health science 1993–1997

At present, the Faculty of Health Science has 1100 plus students undertaking professional studies and research degrees in Health Science, Primary Health Care, Health Promotion and Health Education, Health Informatics and Management, Human Movement Science, Nursing, Occupational Health and Safety, Midwifery, and Indigenous Therapies. Every undergraduate student has an electronic mail address, uses computers for word processing and other productivity tasks, and receives at least a basic

Change and the legacy

The challenges of using the technology have not changed; staff and students alike insist that the computers are too slow and are always busy, ‘[I] couldn't get on a computer because everyone was doing assignments on them, doing e-mail and CHAT lines.’ (Student, personal comment, 1997) However, they continue to be enthusiastic about the computer-based learning materials: ‘It [CAL] was one of those different teaching methods, not rote learning. It's more learning in a different context so that it

Acknowledgements

The 1997 student comments in this paper are from a current research project (S.M. Stewart, A.A. Plummer) through CQU's Research Centre for Open and Distance Learning, ‘Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) in Health Science: Are CAL developers using educational technologies appropriately to meet the learner's needs?’

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