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Nurse educators function in a post-industrial, information and communication technology driven world. They are required to equip student nurses with the competencies to render healthcare in technologically advanced healthcare settings. Modern developments in information-communication and educational technologies compel nurse educators to make a paradigm shift by redirecting the emphasis from traditional methods of instruction to computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and computer-based learning. This study investigated the nature of student nurses' exposure to CAI and computer-based learning, the perceived benefits of this exposure, as well as the challenges encountered. A quantitative, non-experimental, univariate, descriptive survey research design was utilised. The respondents comprised 172 second year and 119 third year student nurses. Although the respondents preferred CAI to traditional modes of teaching, evidence of ineffective CAI was portrayed in the findings. It is recommended that various educational computer packages that support mastery of subject content and the development of higher cognitive skills be accessed and utilised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multimedia learning occurs when students build mental representations from words and pictures that are presented to them (e.g., printed text and illustrations or narration and animation). The promise of multimedia learning is that students can learn more deeply from well-designed multimedia messages consisting of words and pictures than from more traditional modes of communication involving words alone. This article explores a program of research aimed at determining (a) research-based principles for the design of multimedia explanations—which can be called methods, and (b) the extent to which methods are effective across different learning environments—which can be called media. A review of research on the design of multimedia explanations conducted in our lab at Santa Barbara shows (a) a multimedia effect—in which students learn more deeply from words and pictures than from words alone—in both book-based and computer-based environments, (b) a coherence effect—in which students learn more deeply when extraneous material is excluded rather than included—in both book-based and computer-based environments, (c) a spatial contiguity effect—in which students learn more deeply when printed words are placed near rather than far from corresponding pictures—in both book-based and computer-based environments, and (d) a personalization effect—in which students learn more deeply when words are presented in conversational rather than formal style—both in computer-based environments containing spoken words and those using printed words. Overall, our results provide four examples in which the same instructional design methods are effective across different media. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]