technology
...ather, such experiences should guide decisions about appropriate applications of educational technology. Technology can be used to engage learners in rich and meaningful activities, but the associated disadvantages also need consideration: • Some strategies, particularly complex simulations, are very costly to produce. However, this may be offset by longer term gains where large numbers of students are involved and where improvements in health and safety of the participants can be achieved. It may be better to allow students to witness the autonomic nervous system effects that occur in patients receiving excessive doses of adrenaline via a patient simulation, rather than allow the same experience during clinical placement. • Simulations will never replace the need for actual experience. The common trap here is to confuse the domain of knowledge being addressed by the technology. Simulations should not be used to teach nurses how to take a patient’s temperature; they can however be used to develop clinical decision making skills that enable nurses to identify the likely cause of fever and implement the most appropriate management plan. • Not all students will have access to the computer systems required to operate the programs. • Technology may be threatening to novices. Students may not have the skills needed to install software or connect to the Internet. • Academics may not have the skills, time or support...