Consulting with Nursing Teachers

Yesterday I had a meeting with the Team Leader of Nursing to discuss the material we plan to include in our online resource. We want to ensure that the information students will access is relevant to their learning and relates directly to their course.

Feedback from the Team Leader was positive so now we need to concentrate on putting all the bits and pieces together.

It feels like we are making good progress.

Everyone is Busy

Dale, our multimedia developer, is exploring how we can integrate the avatar into the LibGuide. He is also developing a learning sequence based on Sandy's resources to show students how to reference in 3 easy steps.

Sandy is writing the avatar scripts for the learning sequence for the voice behind the avatar.

Jo is putting the LibGuide together, adding the resources and activities to the guide and grouping them into sections.

I am telling the world what we are doing by keeping this blog up to date.

Online Platform

We plan to use a LibGuide as the online platform for our resource in this project.

LibGuides is a Web 2.0 tool that libraries can use to manage content, share information and bring together multimedia resources.

The GippsTAFE library has purchased a licence for this tool and have been exploring how best to use it. They have created several guides and are finding it versatile and user friendly tool.

GippsTAFE LibGuides

The Role of the Avatar

At a recent meeting we discussed the role our avatar will take. Will it act purely as a guide to direct the students around the resource or will it also take on an instructional role? We plan to explore both possibilities as the project progresses. At this stage we will identify those parts of the resource where addition of the avatar will have the greatest impact and make those the priority.

Here are two interesting sites relating to the use of avatars, or interactive animated pedagogical agents as they are also known.

• Pedagogical Agents - A Primer
• Pedagogical Agents on the Web

Why an avatar?

I have been hunting around for some studies on using avatars in presentations, training and/or education where the focus is not on virtual worlds but on the advantages of an avatar or animated character supporting progress through learning materials or tasks.

A frequently cited landmark study is...
Reeves, B. (2000). The Benefits of Interactive Online Characters. Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford University.

Reeves' Major Points:
(1) Human-Media Interactions Are Fundamentally Social
(2) Character Interfaces Bring Social Intelligence to Online Interactions

The Project

eNursing@GippsTAFE aims to develop a customised e-learning program for GippsTAFE's Diploma of Nursing Students.

The program will contribute directly to the following three nursing units:

• HLTEN401A - Work in the nursing profession
• HLTEN502A - Apply effective communication skills in nursing proactice
• HLTEN514A - Apply research skills

Learners will acquire new knowledge and practice specific skills using freely available interactive web sourced content.

The program will pilot the use of avatars as well as incorporating Web 2.0 technology to provide learners with a user friendly, engaging elearning solution available around the clock.

This blog will record our journey.