At TWU, each student is given data storage space on the Pioneer Portal server. When I was traveling to campus for my hybrid classes, I would save my PowerPoint presentations on the campus server and to a flash drive. I can’t remember a single time that the campus server was not working when I needed to use it. Rather than worry about getting my flash drive to work, I would use the campus server. I started doing this when it was required for me to drive to the Denton campus and the Parkland Campus. Doing research in the library was less cumbersome in that I would check out a library laptop and save files to Pioneer Portal and references using the library RevWorks. What I find amazing is that when I started graduate school, two and half years ago, I didn’t know that these wonderful conveniences were available. So just starting this graduate program, I was instantly required to learn a variety of new computer skills and organization.
Those who just getting started or still have a few semesters left, I strongly urge you to learn to take full advantage of the IT made available to the students at all levels through PP, BlackBoard, and the Library. I also strongly suggest that if you have not taken your electives; take the two available Library Science courses, the Internet and Electronic Information Retrieval. I don’t care what level of user you are, I promise you will never regret taking these classes. I thought I was an intermediate technology user prior to these classes; only to discover that I was practically a newbie. I know that I am an intermediate level user now.
Those are just a few educational technologies currently available to us as students.
I bring up these wonderful technological advantages available currently through TWU for students. I have recently learned another wonderful technological advancement that may affect students at some point. I do see it as something that should be offered to faculty (if it is not at this time). My employer has it and I’m already spoiled!
Gone are my days of toting my laptop back and forth to an office. Gone are the days of carrying a flash drive back and forth to an office. My new employer offers a wonderful intranet feature. Similar to Pioneer Portal, I can access files that I save to the hospital server BUT . . . through the same remote access, I can access my desktop computer drive in almost seamless environment. The available technology to remotely access another computer’s hard drive has been around for about 10 years and most competent IT professionals have experience using to “fix” hard drives remotely. [It’s a weird feeling watch your screen cursor acting as if the computer has mysteriously taken over control.] What is unique is that I’ve never seen an employer use this feature for non-IT employees.
I’m thinking that this technology is probably the reason for the expansion and popularity of telecommuting and for businesses that have road warrior employees. This type of access available to hospital based is a first for me and I love it! My manager has already told me that if one of my children gets sick, I would not need to call in sick because I can still work at home when necessary. When I remotely access my computer at work, IT can track what I’ve done and provides my manager prove that I’ve been working on something even if I’m not physically at the hospital. The extremely large size of the facility may also have something to do with the availability and use of the technology.
I do not see any need for clinical nurses to have this capability unless they also have a significant amount of managerial responsibilities as well. I don’t foresee a reason for students needing this capability because of how easy remote access of the campus servers are. If I were faculty somewhere with an on campus office, I would be begging for this capability. Like I said, I’m already spoiled just after four weeks!
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4 comments:
Interesting. What hospital do you work at? You said you are an educator. Do you get to solely spend your time educating or creating ed. programs? In so many hospitals the educators spend just as much time on the floor doing patient care as anything else!
I am the Clinical Educator for Perioperative Services for Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. We have 29 ORs. I provide for all of the educational needs for all of the employees in the ORs, PreOp, PACU, and Central Processing (~300). The only patient care that I perform is when I go into a area to check on how interns, students, or new orientees are doing; and then it's only assisting. My time is predominately focus on education. My focus is helping departmental employee perform their job to the best of their abilities and within the lengthy list of regulations. I’m hoping to start a preceptor class for all of the different areas. I don’t really have time to be with each individual the way I would like to do. I didn’t really anticipate this particular job but I really enjoy it. I love the fact that I affect every patient that come through perioperative services because I teach the employees; the RNs, Surgical Techs, Patient Care Techs, CS Techs, all visiting students, visitors, and even the new surgeons. This is definitely a job that I did not consider when I went back to school. I do love it.
Katherine,
I wonder if formal training of students by an IT of personnel the beginning of each semester can help students be able to use the available resources. I think why some of the students don't use is the lack of know how. Faculty could be also the same with limited to IT knowledge and how to navigate through the same. Such sessions should be included in nursing programs to help enhance use of available technology in campus and even work place.
Nelly
Nelly,
At the various campuses, IT support is readily available to faculty for assistance with software, hardware, etc. Students on the other hand have a very limited access. I understand that the university is limited in the number of IT staff it can hire.
This is your first class with me but several of our classmates and Dr. A know that I'm always the first to propose that nursing studentsshould be required to take a class at the beginning of nursing school that teaches how to use MS Office application, how to use databases available through the library, etc. I'm sure that if it was just the one class that once the students begin using the technology for their studies that many of the technology learning headaches could be aleviated.
My first time through graduate school back in 1989 required this type of class. It made a huge difference in my willingness to use computers. I'm still learning but it is so much easier because I've known and have work with basic programs for many years.
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