Web-based teaching: caution and suggestion.

O ur society is infatuated with computers and their ever-expanding possibilities. Learning online using Web-based modalities is now widespread throughout the educational system. However, I believe that a degree of vigilance about its use in nursing education is in order and that it must be accompanied by in-person learning. Research so far supports the effectiveness of Web-based education. As a matter of fact, published a meta-analysis of online learning investigations and concluded that students studying in face-to-face classes did slightly worse than those learning online! The best learning outcomes were demonstrated when online and face-to-face methods were blended (hybrid). Unfortunately, the comprehensiveness or narrowness of defined educational outcomes was not addressed in this analysis. I believe that uncovering the unique effect of in-person learning will eventually revise conclusions about classroom versus Web-based effectiveness. Therefore, in planning best nursing hybrid education practices, some considerations about best use of the In-ternet and best use of in-person learning need to be considered. At the outset, the character of the In-ternet itself poses challenges. Carr (2010) has raised provocative questions about how Internet tools are changing the modern learner by developing " the permanent state of distractedness that defines the online life " (p. 112). The Internet subjects users to an extraordinary diversity of signals received through " power browsing " rather than through concentrated learning. Carr worried about the loss of systematic thought and ability to concentrate on complex tasks. As the speed of data accelerates, so does learner distraction accelerate with skimming and scanning rather than focused attention. Likewise, in 2004, Oppenheimer foretold such risks to thinking and reasoning in " The Flickering Mind, " in which he called for restraint in the computerization of education and heralded the necessity of face-to-face learning in the classroom. Beyond such concerns about the Internet as a pedagogical instrument, there are additional cautions about widespread adoption of Web-based instruction as a primary modality in nursing. These cautions persist despite the finest online teaching methodologies. First, the physical separation of student and teacher, as well as student and student, inherent in Web-based learning follows a troubling industrial model. Education is no longer a human relationship but is instead a virtual exchange. Speedy, anywhere–anytime learning is disembodied and has become a highly profitable product in the marketplace for schools that have strong distance learning infra-structures. The commercialization of education occurs as university administrators , vendors of technological …