A comparison of on-campus first year undergraduate nursing students' experiences with face-to-face and on-line discussions

Only limited pedagogical use has been made of information and communications technology (ICT) in nursing education in Norway. In this study the use of ICT was Linked to assignments in the first year undergraduate nursing program and included four on-line discussions. There is evidence to suggest that on-tine discussions can enhance the learning environment. The students' experiences of the online discussions are compared to those of the students participating in traditional group discussions. The results show little difference between the two groups' opinions of the discussions' fruitfulness and the ease in which they expressed their feelings, thoughts and ideas. However, there is a marked difference between the two groups regarding their experience of how the discussions affected the amount of contact between group members outside the discussions. Possible reasons for these findings are discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.