Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education

Advisor

Michael Simonson

Committee Member

Susanne Flannelly

Keywords

Educational technology, Community college education, Adult education, Andragogy, Diffusion of Innovations, Instrumental Case Study, Nontraditional Learners, Undergraduate Students, Videoconference Technology

Abstract

This applied dissertation is an instrumental case study based on diffusion of innovations theory designed to gather student opinions regarding videoconference (VC) technology use in facilitating courses to undergraduate degree-seeking nursing students. The author of diffusion of innovations theory, Rogers (2003), recommended that more qualitative studies be conducted in education. Rogers and Jain (1968) recommended these studies should be conducted from the aspect of “receivers of innovation diffusion” (p.1) to provide feedback instrumental to implementation of technological innovations in academe. Further, Rogers stated that multiple data points should be used during the process of trialing an innovation. Therefore, a current VC course was selected from the nursing curriculum of a public state college hosting one of the largest nursing programs in the southeastern United States in which to conduct the study.

A total of 32 students participated divided equally between two sites: Main campus and Regional campus. Further divided, 22 personal interviews were conducted and two focus groups; one for each campus consisting 5 students each. Additionally, included in the data corpus were 40 hours of classroom observation plus, college provided end of course (EOC) summary statements. These data were triangulated to determine whether students would accept VC technology unchanged, accept with modifications, or reject VC technology based on first time exposure to the innovation during the 16-week semester. Student innovation decisions were: 6 students accepted unchanged, 14 students accepted with modifications, and 12 students rejected the innovation. Students who rejected the innovation were exclusively from the regional campus, which was the receiving site the majority of the semester.

First and second-cycle analyses yielded 67 codes resulting in 5 categories, which further developed into 3 emerging themes: (a) Interaction with instructors, materials, and distant students are key elements affecting adoption decisions of students regarding VC technology; (b) Student adoption decisions are influenced by faculty members in their use of VC technology; and (c) Student opinions indicate that reinvention is necessary for VC technology to be fully adopted into the present nursing program. The five categories: Interaction, equipment, teaching methodology, instructor technology training, and student orientation provided ample detail from which to inform practice regarding recommendations for reinvention (modification) of VC technology during the implementation stage of Rogers’ five stages of the innovation-decision model. These modifications could assist the college in gaining parity between the two nursing sites, which reported an 18.53 percentage point difference in first time pass rates on the NCLEX-RN exam reported by the Florida Department of Health (Florida Health, 2015).

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