Advice with offer of 'blended learning'...

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Hi guys,

I have been accepted to nursing school to start in Feb of 2010 :yeah:

This will be my second career and second degree. My school is is going to trial a new 'blended learning stream' in the first semester of 2010 and thanks to my life experience I have been offered a place on it. This means that some of the theory component will be taught online.

While I'm somewhat proud that they have offered me a place on this new stream I have some misgivings.

1: As it's the first time they will be running it, I will essentially be a guinea pig.

2: Although it's only some of the theory components that are offered off campus I'm worried, perhaps with no good reason, that I will be missing out on something by not actually being present in a classroom situation.

This 'blended learning' is supposed to offer more flexibility than a purely traditional system.

What do you think?

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How comfortable are you with online classes? I think that if you're comfortable with using technology as a delivery device, go for it. One of the challenges of nursing school is just logistics...trying to get everything done you need to around classes, etc... The online component might make that challenge easier.

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Specializes in Adult Oncology.

I find online classes wonderful. You have to be diligent in logging in every day and doing part of the lessons. If you are self-motivated, they can be a huge blessing. At this point in my classes we have a different instructor teaching different concepts every week, and some are wonderful lecturers, giving focus on details and interventions, others read directly from the power points and I always think "I CAN BE DOING THIS BY MYSELF AT HOME!!!" I don't need someone to read to me.

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I like online classes. But the thing with nursing courses is that it demands a lot of critical thinking - and I think for that reason more face to face type of classroom is better. Otherwise I think there is not much difference as long as you are a nursing student, which means a highly motivated one who can study and study and study.... :)

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Specializes in Urgent Care NP, Emergency Nursing, Camp Nursing.

Then again, it's nursing theory. As long as you're not going on to do research, it won't matter much, and if you are they'll make you take a full course on it anyway. I wouldn't sweat it.

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Specializes in ..

We do this now. (I'm in Australia.) I've found that it's generally the wanky-er subjects that are run online, that don't have a lot to them or a lot of work OR they're the subjects that run against the final clinical subjects to give you more flexible in your final transitional subjects.

It's definitely not a bad thing.

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