Tic: A Problem-Based Proposal for Nursing Education

This article offers an analysis of a research project designed to identify the computer network competence acquired by students through independent work in a learning environment (LE) that makes use of problem-based, digital educational material. Twenty-two (22) nursing students who were enrolled in a telematics course at the Universidad de La Sabana during the second half of 2007 participated in the study. A case-study methodology was used, as it permits an overview of all the problems in a LE and facilitates an understanding of the practices and concepts of those who take part, their relations, tensions and transformations. Twenty-seven percent (27%) of the students surpassed the expected levels of development in terms of the proposed competence, 63% achieved the expected levels, and only 14% reached the minimum levels. These accomplishments were related to the methods each pair developed to solve the case studies and to factors such as an exchange of knowledge with peers, individual ways of thinking, and each student's willingness and attitude.