Abstract:

The use of mobile devices in nursing education and practice has become normative over the past decade. The utility of mobile devices for nursing students in the learning environment in theory and clinical courses is undisputed. However, certain aspects of the context of nursing students’ mobile learning are unclear. What mobile devices are being used by nursing students? Why and how are these devices being used? Where is this mobile learning taking place?

The objectives for this presentation are:
(1) to review the literature regarding nursing students’ use of mobile devices; and
(2) to present a study examining unexplored areas of mobile device use by undergraduate nursing students.

Research regarding nursing students’ use of mobile devices and mobile learning in nursing education is focused on use in clinical practice in hospitals. Use of mobile devices is viewed as positive, with nursing students reporting enhanced learning opportunities related to easy access to evidence-based information. Nursing students access medical dictionaries, drug reference guides, and applications for drug calculations. Barriers to use include: variable connectivity, small screen size, cost, varying levels of technological literacy, and difficulty determining the quality of mobile applications. There is speculation in the literature regarding the future of advances in mobile learning and the devices being used by nursing students. With this as context, we propose a study to address these gaps in the literature. The following is an outline of this study including the research questions, method, and anticipated findings.

The research questions for this study are:
(1) What mobile devices are being used by undergraduate nursing students?
(2) For what purposes are these students using mobile devices in theory and clinical courses?
(3) Where is this mobile learning taking place?

The method for this study is survey research. The population for this study is students currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Nursing program at a distance education university in Canada. Survey data from closed-ended items will be analyzed using descriptive statistics. Inductive content analysis will be used to analyze open-ended questions.

Findings from this study will identify what specific devices are being used by nursing students (e.g., smartphones, tablets). Second, why and how mobile devices are being used in clinical courses beyond accessing references and applications, may contribute to a clearer understanding of the role of mobile devices in the provision of care to patients and families in health care settings. Why and how mobile devices are being used in theory courses may inform teaching and learning pedagogy such as suitable learning activities related to course/program learning outcomes and development of robust assessment/assignments. Third, knowing the places in which the learning is occurring opens up possibilities for thinking about the sites of adult learning both physical and virtual. It is possible that anticipated findings might be generalized to other populations of undergraduate students in practice disciplines such as education or engineering. Additional research in the area of students’ use of mobile devices in post-secondary education has the potential to prepare graduates to harness, integrate, and actualize the vast potential of mobile learning.

Keywords:

Mobile device, mobile learning, nursing students.