Nursing Course & Curriculum Development & Collaboration

As you read this article, I would like you to reflect on the potential barriers that exist when working in a curriculum/course development team, especially due to COVID-19 (Delta, Epsilon)

What will be your first step? As I have discussed in previous articles, I will integrate S.I.M.P.L.I.C.I.T.Y. Please see my article “Integrating S.I.M.P.L.I.C.I.T.Y in the Nursing Academic Curriculum.” Published on February 11, 2019.

?S.I.M.P.L.I.C.I.T.Y has 3 “I”s, and they stand for Introduce, Integration & Implementation. This article will discuss those 3 components in further detail.

Introduce: Start by creating an “autopsy” of your current course/curriculum and identifying what has worked and what has not worked. According to Kemmis, McTAggagrt, Nixon, 2014, action research facilitates self-reflection to identify problems and develop solutions that improve their educational practice. Therefore, the first step in action research is identifying the potential problem and then providing possible solutions followed by appropriate actions leading to observation and reflection.

As you have concluded and repeated this cycle numerous times, you have completed all your findings and are ready for Integration & Implementation.

As you about to start, you realize that under COVID-19, you do not have that ideal working environment. Yes, exists multiple different platforms will allow us to collaborate. Still, those environments are not close enough to what we are trying to achieve within Nursing Education on creating a live course. As a result, we often see variations from what was originally designed. In some instances, not everyone receives all information simultaneously, or something was not transferred from one file to another. In addition, we all have experienced creating a course in real-time as we realized it did not translate as it was meant to be and designed for.

But the wait is over.......

Have you ever heard the following term??

Sandbox?

Yes, Sandbox,

But not this one but instead a virtual one.

The main idea and concept are the same. It is a safe environment where faculty can come and collaborate in real-time.

Sandbox, are you familiar with this concept?

A Sandbox course is a space within your LMS (Learning Management System) created for an individual instructor or team to experiment and Implement their outcomes from the action research process.

Initially, Sandbox courses have no content added to them, and only the one/multiple instructors added. However, faculty/instructors are encouraged to experiment with the new functionality offered and add colleagues and support individuals as needed.

Faculty/Instructors can experiment with adding and importing content and different ways of organizing a course. Unlike an academic course calendar-based course shell, the Sandbox course’s lack of other members makes experimentation easier because otherwise, unwanted notifications and other items are not being sent. While experimenting, instructors may want to take advantage of the feature in Settings to Reset Course Content and start over.

Sandbox sites can also be used as a source to import content into future academic course calendar-based course shells.

Why would I use a Sandbox in Nursing Education?

A sandbox is a useful tool to give you the confidence to try out new tools and themes before implementing them on a current module. For example, you could use it to test a Discussion board, Turnitin assignment settings, or even experiment with Peer Review. Also is very helpful when you have multiple sections of the same course, such as lectures/clinical courses. For example, teams can create one course and then make multiple copies by exporting it to each live lecture/clinical course.

What are some additional features that can be integrated?

If your LMS is Blackboard, you may have access to the following additional tools:

·????????Interaction and communication?– Students can connect with instructors and classmates through e-mail, discussion boards, and blogs.?Instructors can connect their Blackboard site to?Zoom ?or Microsoft Teams for video classes or office hours.

·????????Advanced quiz and survey tools?– Instructors can create practice tests and gather student feedback online.

·????????Excel-compatible grade book?– Instructors manage course grades online and download them for use with other applications.

·????????Easy document sharing?– Upload files with just a few clicks.

·????????Built-in anti-plagiarism service?- Plagiarism detection is automated by SafeAssign and integrates directly with?Turnitin Feedback Studio .

·????????Multimedia integrations?– Students enjoy access to course materials designed to enhance their learning experience, including video lectures through?Zoom ?as well as recorded content from?MyMedia ?and?Echo360 .

·????????Blackboard Collaborate is a real-time video conferencing tool that lets you add files, share applications, and use a virtual whiteboard to interact. Collaborate with the Ultra experience opens right in your browser, so you don't have to install any software to join a session.

?In conclusion, working seamlessly and collaboratively will foster stronger positive team building and provide an equitable work environment that all voices can be heard.

My personal motto is: "The more of "us" in this case you, the stronger we are." Every faculty member has something unique and valuable to contribute to the overall process of a course or curriculum development.

Regards

Nikolaos

“NEVER GIVE UP ON A DREAM JUST BECAUSE OF THE TIME IT WILL TAKE TO ACCOMPLISH IT. THE TIME WILL PASS ANYWAY.” –EARL NIGHTINGALE.?

References:

Kemmis S., McTaggart R., & Nixon R. (2014).?The action research planner: Doing critical participatory action research?(1st ed). Singapore: Springer; 10.1007/9