Readiness in technology usage by students and educators in a North West public nursing college

Abstract

The use of technology has been accepted as a supplementary strategy to complement teaching and learning globally. This is in contrast with the practice locally as South Africa is still at the infant stage of the implementation of use of technology in teaching and learning especially at nursing education institutions and at public nursing colleges in rural areas in particular. Lack of information technology communication skills by nurse educators which contributes to low usage of technology in teaching and learning remains a big concern in nursing education in SA. Moreover, there seems to be a dearth in literature on the use of technology in teaching and learning at public nursing colleges precisely those in rural areas. Therefore, the aim of this study is to compare the readiness in technology usage for teaching and learning in two campuses of a North West public nursing college. This study followed a quantitative approach of a comparative descriptive design. Multi-level stratified random sampling technique was used to reach the aim of the study. Descriptive statistics data were analysed using the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences version 27. The results revealed that a North West public nursing college at Ngaka Modiri Molema district is more ready than a campus at Dr. Kenneth Kaunda district. Following the results, recommendations were made on nursing education and practice, policy makers and further research.