ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Videos as educational technology in nursing: students' evaluation

Pétala Tuani Candido de Oliveira Salvador^I; Manacés dos Santos Bezerril^II; Cláudia Cristiane Filgueira Martins Rodrigues^III; Kisna Yasmin Andrade Alves^IV; Theo Duarte da Costa^V; Viviane Euzébia Pereira Santos^VI

^I Nurse. PhD in Nursing. Lecturer at the School of Health, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. E-mail: petalatuani@hotmail.com
^II Nurse. Master Student in Nursing, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. E-mail: manacesbezerril@hotmail.com
^III Nurse. PhD in Nursing. Lecturer at the School of Health, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. E-mail: claudiacrisfm@yahoo.com.br
^IV Nurse. PhD in Nursing. Lecturer at the School of Health, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. E-mail: kisnayasmin@hotmail.com
^V Nurse. PhD in Nursing. Lecturer at the School of Health, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. E-mail: theodcj@hotmail.com
^VI Nurse. PhD in Nursing. Lecturer, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. E-mail: vivianeepsantos@gmail.com

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12957/reuerj.2017.18767

ABSTRACT

Objective: to analyze students' evaluations of their participation in the recording of videos for teaching nursing procedures. Method: in this quantitative, descriptive study of six public university students in northeast Brazil, who participated in video recording of procedures, data were collected in March 2015 by means of electronic form via Google forms. The study project was approved by the research ethics committee (CAAE No. 41875415.9.0000.5537). Data were treated by simple descriptive statistics. Results: it was shown that participation in recording educational videos contributed to learning and/or performing the technique. Conclusion: participation in the video recordings provided meaningful experience for the students who performed as actors, and had high or very high impact on their learning.

Keywords: Nursing education; innovation; technology; audiovisual resources.

INTRODUCTION

The process of learning in undergraduate courses in health care goes through several transformations with the objective of establishing effective strategies for the improvement of the mechanisms of knowledge construction of students.

Thinking about teaching nowadays invites for a review of concepts about education and about the roles of the subjects involved in this process of teaching and learning¹. It means, above all, to rethink the school as an open and motivating environment, contributing to the promotion and responding to the needs of today's society.

In this context, new teaching technologies are coherent alternatives to the transformations in the learning process, because they qualify the training of health professionals, as well as consolidate the interface between theory and practice. In this study, we highlight the use of videos as a tool to support nursing education.

The language of videos has a synthetic nature, articulates images, sounds, speeches, few texts, and creates a superposition of codes and significations, which are predominantly of audiovisual nature. Videos have, therefore, a significant power of illustration, calling attention when well-structured and prepared, and it is often self-explanatory².

In the scope of nursing, videos make it possible to guide practical activities through the simulation of the care environment and patient care. These aspects can help students to address their main needs and doubts before entering the real practical field³. Because of these characteristics, videos are commonly used by undergraduate technical and vocational students.

These initiatives integrate the current demand for a more participative teaching, with contents that can be used according to the students' learning needs and rhythms. This technological advance can also support nurses' daily life, by providing information and enhancing the acquisition of knowledge in the continuing education of these professionals^4,5.

Videos can be therefore an instrument that contributes in fact to the teaching-learning process, provided that their use follows a careful planning, with objectives, so as to take advantage of the full potential of this resource².

Therefore, in view of the potential of the systematic development of educational videos to support nursing teaching and the understanding that the insertion of nursing students in innovation processes can contribute to their critical-reflexive development, the present study aims to respond the following question: how do students evaluate their participating in the recording of videos to teach nursing procedures?

The objective is to analyze the students' evaluation about their participation in the recording of videos for the teaching of nursing procedures.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Teaching technologies, including videos, are globally recognized as beneficial to the innovative and differentiated process currently required in learning environments. They contribute to critical thinking, complex decisions, practical skills, work motivation, interaction, problem solving and the generation of hypotheses, because they are based on the active participation of the students, stimulating their autonomy and their criticality^3,6,7.

In the meantime, nursing educators must co-operate with technological developments in response to current demands, an aspect that should be fundamentally coupled with the follow-up of a pedagogical approach that guides the incorporation of technologies in educational environments.

The incorporation of these innovations, however, demands changes in the way of teaching and learning in order to enable the involved parties to use and create technologies in the nursing work process. Therefore, it is necessary to unite people, information, procedures and computing resources towards the common goal of maximizing the benefits to these people and their technological capabilities^8,9.

However, positive results are still limited to empirical conclusions, or to studies with a low level of scientific evidence. The lack of evidence represents a problem for the use of technologies for teaching in nursing education, in terms of the benefits of using this tool¹⁰. Moreover, it is important to note that, currently, the main source of search for educational videos is the Internet, especially virtual platforms such as YouTube. These sources do not guarantee efficacy and quality of the information; adequate screening, based on teaching protocols, is necessary.

In this regard, a study carried out in 2010 confirmed the importance of the use of technologies as teaching tools, especially hypermedia, and revealed the different methodological paths for the elaboration of these computer products. However, the study pointed out that not all the researches have included evaluation and/or validation of the material produced as an essential step of the construction¹¹.

It is therefore believed that educational videos should be prepared in the light of scientific evidence and submitted to a process of validation of content by experts in the field prior to their dissemination as teaching-learning tools for the academic world.

METHODOLOGY

This is a descriptive study with a quantitative approach that integrates the Project of Associated Actions on Educational Videos: a technological tool for teaching nursing students , conducted at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN).

The overall objective of the project was to develop educational videos to support the teaching of nursing procedures. To do this, it was necessary to perform the following steps: analysis of videos available in the YouTube for nursing education based on a pre-established protocol; review of the literature on the most used nursing procedures in semiology and semiotechnology in Nursing; qualification of nursing students to act as facilitators in the videos produced in the Laboratory of Nursing Skills of the UFRN; and validation and dissemination of videos as a teaching-learning instrument in undergraduate and vocational training courses.

The project was submitted to the Ethics and Research Committee of the UFRN and approved under Opinion 1,004,946, of 27/03/2015, CAAE nº 41875415.9.0000.5537 and followed all the ethical precepts established by Resolution nº 466 of the National Health Council.

Six students members of the research group of Laboratory for Research on Care, Safety, and Technologies in Health and Nursing (LABTEC), to which the above mentioned project is linked, participated in the recording of the videos of the nursing procedures. As already mentioned, the students were previously trained to participate as actors by following defined teaching protocols based on scientific evidence.

In order to investigate the evaluation of students who participated in the recording of videos to teach nursing procedures, an electronic form was created via Google forms addressing characterization issues to the scored on a five-point Likert-type scale: 1 - totally disagree, 2 - partially disagree, 3 - indifferent, 4 - partially agree, 5 - totally agree.

The aspects evaluated on this scale were: interest to participate in the videos and how this participation contributed or not to their knowledge; quality of the protocols used; doubts about the techniques addressed; improvement of practical skills; nature of the materials and environment made available; level of satisfaction and safety; and difficulties in recording videos.

In addition, the form contained open questions for evaluating the stages of recording and learning resulting from the creation of the videos, such as: Was there any benefit for your learning? Describe the benefits expressing your justifications about this contribution; describe your impression of having had the opportunity to participate as an actor in the videos; what factors interfered with the recording of the videos?; what factors contributed to the recording of the videos?; analyze the recording of the videos regarding the organizational factors (steps, use of protocols, environment, team, etc.); and describe how videos can contribute to the teaching of nursing procedures.

The datawas collected in March 2015, tabulated in a Microsoft Excel 2010 spreadsheet and were analyzed through simple descriptive statistics (absolute and relative frequency).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Six students, who were actors in the educational videos developed in the Project of Associated Actions on Educational Videos: a technological tool for teaching nursing students , composed the final sample of the research. The synthesis of the characterization of the participants of this study is presented in Table 1.

TABLE 1: Characteristics of participants. Natal, 2015. (N=6)

All students were young, ranging in age from 21 to 25 years, with a predominance of the younger age - 3 (50%). As for the degree of training, they were distributed in the 5th, 6th and 9th academic semesters. See Table 1.

The fact that the participants are all female and young is consistent with the data highlighted in the literature, which indicates that the presence of females is still predominant in Nursing Undergraduate Courses ^12,13 and calls attention to the fact that the majority of nursing students are young people^13,14.

As for the degree of training, because they belong to heterogeneous academic levels, when they participated in the recording of the videos, the members presented a greater diversity of experience in performing the techniques during the recordings, and, therefore, greater contribution for the present study.

In the evaluation about having been given the opportunity to participate as actors in the videos, the students gave varied answers, including having contributed to the learning and/or realization of the technique, provided a significant experience, besides helping to overcome the difficulty of speaking before the cameras. They also emphasized the expectation regarding the final results.

When questioned whether there was any benefit in terms of learning and, then, when describing and expressing their justifications about this contribution, all were emphatic when answering about the existence of positive results: 4 (66.6%) participants found to be a positive aspect the fact that they were called attention to important details about the execution of the technique during the recording of the videos; yet, 3 (33.4%) mentioned that the activity contributed to the fixation of knowledge due to repetition.

Regarding the description of how the videos can help in the teaching of nursing procedures, the participants were unanimous in believing that this is a way of clarifying doubts and, therefore, facilitating the learning of nursing procedures. Besides this observation, 4 (66.6%) students mentioned that an educational video is an easy-to-access tool and 3 (50.0%) reported that it is a form of teaching that favors the learning of practical aspects, by supporting the teaching-learning process in a safe environment.

In relation to the factors that interfered with the recording of the videos, the most cited were the environment, the material and the insecurity. As for the contributing factors, they mentioned the protocols, the knowledge and the team.

When asked if the protocols developed facilitated the practice and if participation in videotaping improved the knowledge of the procedure, all 6 (100.0%) students fully agreed.

There was also a noticeable great interest in participating in the videos: 4 (66.6%) participants admitted to present a real disposition to be present in the recordings; and 4 (66.6%) agreed that this experience had a very high benefit/impact on learning.

Concerning the question whether there was any significant change in relation to the execution of the procedure after participating in the recording of the videos, 4 (66.6%) participants answered yes. According to them, the change generated is due to the detailed exposition of the steps of the techniques, which became simpler, clearer and more objective, because there is consistency in the required sequence. Regarding the emergence of doubts, during the execution of the videos, 4 (66.6%) students stated that they had some questions, such as regarding the order of the steps, the most correct and/or the best way to perform the technique and what would be the positioning from a better angle during recordings.

During the recording, 3 (50.0%) students mentioned some difficulties in the execution of the technique, among them the handling of the sterile field, the use of gloves of an inappropriate size for the participants, among other materials.

It is known that the proposal of new forms of education contributes greatly to a good academic development when it associates knowledge and learning. In nursing, as well as in other areas that involve the teaching of practical skills, this aspect endorses the importance of such methods ¹⁵. This assertion is in agreement with the findings of the present research: the students revealed that they had a significant experience in learning after their participation as actors in the educational videos.

The incorporation of videos into the nursing teaching environment, therefore, proves to be a possibility of guaranteeing a multi-sensorial and dynamic teaching based on the use of different resources and pedagogical approaches. It is noteworthy that among the determinants of learning, the styles preferred by students constitute a fundamental diagnostic evaluation element. These are understood as the most efficient and effective forms and conditions through which they learn, valuing the cognitive, affective and psychological factors¹⁶.

Nursing educators, in this context, have two main responsibilities: to accept the diversity of styles in order to create an atmosphere for learning that offers encouraging experiences for individuals to reach their full potential; and to combine different approaches based on the critical analysis of their fundamentals, since a one-facet-based nursing curriculum can restrict the educational development of students¹⁶.

Thus, the possibility of a motivating, reflexive, multisensory, dynamic, and flexible teaching regarding timetables and geographical spaces, as well as collaborative and promoting socialization of knowledge are outstanding benefits of the incorporation of technologies for teaching in nursing in its diverse learning environments^17,18.

However, even with such benefits already reported, it is imperative that the teacher be aware of the factors that may influence the success of digital technology in the learning process, so as to incorporate minimum quality requirements^19,20. It is therefore recommended to analyze the quality of digital resources, especially of videos available on the Internet.

Educational videos are understood as instructional materials that incorporate the advantages of computer-supported learning resources, highlighting the interactive potential that promotes rapid feedback and retention of knowledge, the possibility of an individualized instruction that serves the different types and rhythms of learning, and the offer of multiple means of learning to the student that facilitate the construction of meanings and conceptual relations^21,22.

Still on the benefits related to the learning gained through the participation of the recording of the videos, it is once again worthy to emphasize the importance of new technological methods used for teaching, for providing independence and greater interactivity^12,15. These observations were emphasized by the participants when they stated that the use of videos in teaching gives the student an abundance of details that help in the better execution of the technique, and avoid, in turn, some errors. It also promotes a better fixation of the knowledge approached.

Furthermore, this form of teaching is easily accessible, since even those professionals already active in the area can access it and, possibly, improve their practice. The method also clarifies doubts and facilitates teaching. It is a kind of tool that, when associated with theory, contributes to the formation of more detail-oriented and more active professionals in favor of quality assistance.

In addition, this strategy places the students at the center of the educational process by giving them autonomy to access the resource according to their availability, which promotes the individuality of the students, so that each one can direct the learning to the points that require more attention²³.

Among the factors that helped or hindered the recordings and, consequently, the final result of the material, the environment, the team, the materials used and the knowledge related to the procedure stood out. This shows, in turn, that for the construction of any tool directed to the teaching-learning process, satisfactory results depend on certain requirements - technical qualification, precise and/or grounded knowledge, as well as adequate physical space and materials²⁴.

Thus, the results presented here make it possible to infer that the use of technological tools, especially videos, is beneficial to teaching. These tools promote a more dynamic, interactive and independent knowledge, besides the connection of knowledge of the most diverse forms^15,25. As previously discussed, it is an easy-to-access tool that provides a wealth of details, facilitates the fixation of knowledge and promotes a sharing of experiences and knowledge from its creation, among the participants of the recordings, until reaching a greater public.

Thus, the importance of this study is evident in the analysis of the impressions of the participants about their active presence in the preparation of the videos, as well as the points they highlight, whether related to the physical aspects or not. These impressions are the basis to point out the most diverse aspects to be reviewed in further studies and/or in the construction of new teaching/learning tools.

Therefore, it is understood that the use of technologies in the teaching-learning process is increasingly necessary for a good performance of the students during their undergraduate training and, therefore, in their professional training. Teachers should seek such resources in order to achieve a successful learning of their target audience^12,24,25.

What is advocated here, therefore, is that the use of technologies for teaching should not be consolidated as an end in itself, capable of modifying a traditional pedagogical scenario. We emphasize, therefore, that, in the light of philosophical approaches, pedagogical theories are essential to ensure the maximization of the potential benefits of different teaching strategies, and this requires knowledge and competence on the part of educators²⁶.

CONCLUSION

It was found that participation in the recording of educational videos contributed to the learning and/or realization of the technique, by providing a meaningful experience to the students who shared as actors in the videos, with very high or high impact in their learning.

It was understood that the videos that were produced can contribute to the teaching of nursing procedures as a multisensory tool capable of clarifying doubts and, in this way, can facilitate the learning. The tool is also an easily accessible technology and a form of teaching that favors the learning of practical aspects, subsidizing a teaching/learning process in a safe environment.

It should be noted that the small number of participants in the research sample constitutes a real limitation, because this aspect makes it impossible to generalize the results.

Regarding the implications for nursing, the study seeks to encourage the discussion about the importance of incorporating technology in teaching as the result of a process based on research with methodological rigor and on reflections on the part of educators based on pedagogical approaches that support a qualified teaching practice.

Finally, it is expected that the videos (under process of validation) resulting from the Project of Associated Actions on Educational Videos: a technological tool for teaching nursing students may enable the training based on qualified care and patient safety, and help teachers to simulate realistic and practice-oriented environments.

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