Abstract
This paper reports the development and implementation of a web-based nursing information literacy course aiming to promote informatics competencies of intended nurses. This particular 18-month course in school years 2011-2012 underwent three distinct phases: initial design, pilot-test and modification, and final implementation. Participants were senior students in a professional nursing college in Southern Taiwan. The researchers conducted the class in a predominately online setting, where all class work took place except for prearranged meetings for class issues and/or problems that occurred unexpectedly. The results showed that the majority of students perceived positively about the teaching method, felt that they gained more knowledge and skills about information literacy and had the abilities to apply these skills in their future nursing practices. This teaching model can serve as a reference for educators and administrators when considering to implement informatics curriculum for nursing students to create opportunities for competency before graduation.
Highlights
Because of the rapid changes on computer and internet technologies and proliferation of information resources, information competency or information literacy becomes increasingly important
The students neither “Strongly Disagreed” nor “Disagreed” with the statements in the questionnaire; these two categories were not presented in the Table
The findings of this study revealed that effective communication and knowledge building were positively perceived by the participants through the web-facilitated nursing information literacy course
Summary
Because of the rapid changes on computer and internet technologies and proliferation of information resources, information competency or information literacy becomes increasingly important. Different from computer skills that are merely computer use (ACRL, 2000; Bryson, 1991), information literacy involves understanding, accessing, evaluating, incorporating information into knowledge base, and using information effectively and correctly (ACRL, 2000). It contributes to self-directed lifelong learning and is considered as outcome abilities of college students. Study results showed that nurses' competency in retrieving and using internet information could support patients and families to use internet as a medium to obtain information since the Internet became an accessible information source (Gilmour, Scott & Huntington, 2008). A literature review article pointed out that information literacy was a relatively new concept in health profession including nursing and there was especially a lack of publications about information literacy from Asian countries (Saranto & Hovenga, 2004)
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