Simulation

Prior to the lesson this week, I was very pro simulation experiences for students, not identifying many negatives to this form of teaching. However, after reading the articles presented, I have come to realize the complications simulation can cause. Prior to the readings, I thought simulation would be a great evaluation tool. This way of thinking was supported by the QSEN  website.  After reading the article by Onello and Regan (2013), I now understand how using simulation as an evaluation tool can be complicated. For one, evaluation utilizing simulation has not been standardized. One school may have a specific set of criteria to claim competency in a skill or procedure. Yet, another school may require a more in depth evaluation.  Onello and Regan also discussed how simulation is causing students to by hyper-aware of patients deteriorating quickly, especially in rarely seen conditions. I find this fascinating because when students arrive on units as beginning students now, they are very timid around patients that are not doing so well. They tend to stand back, instead of being able to name off and complete appropriate assessments. While recognizing the signs of patients’ decline, most patients do not. The assumption and hyper-awareness they might can do a great disservice to students. Students will begin using so much time and energy expecting the patients to decline, instead of providing the patient with the things they need to progress. For instance, if a patient is about ready to be discharged and needs education on new medications and a new home routine, the students may miss this because their time and energy is being spent on assuming the patient is going to decline.

In Dr. Porter's class, we had to complete modules from the University of Washington on proper simulation set-up and initiation. While I did not complete all modules, I learned quite a lot from those I did. I believe all universities should have faculty complete similar modules before initiating a simulation program. 

Digital Storytelling Presentation Tools

lThis week has been interesting. I have always been a sucker for a good story! I enjoyed watching all the clips this week. Several of them reminded me of my undergrad classes. I was always thankful when a professor, special guest, or video would interrupt the lecture to offer a story. The story seemed to re-energize me, especially when I was becoming stressed out with the homework, papers, and exams. They always had a way of reminding that the stress would all be worth it one day. This week had several examples of digital storytelling.
I enjoyed the Prezi presentation by Predernal. She defined and described the parts that are imperative in creating an attractive and entertaining digital story. After watching the presentation, I decided to try one of the digital storytelling programs she offered. One of my first choices was the Xtranormal program because it was fun in a simplistic way. However, once I started to research this program, as of July 2013, the program was no longer available. For a moment I was disappointed. Meanwhile, other programs have become available offering some of the same characteristics of Xtranormal. The one I chose was Powtoon.
Powtoon is a free, online program that offers creative animated presentations. The basic set-up is similar to PowerPoint in that the author creates several slides to the presentation. However, each slide can have several sets before transitioning to the next slide. This program was not as similar to Xtranormal as I was expecting. Xtranormal used cartoons providing the information in a conversational format. Powtoon is more of a presentation tool. Creators can create slides with animation, voiceover, and music. I created a small presentation just to assess the features. I had fun working with this program. Here is my attempted Powtoon presentation!! A problem I have with this program is the difficulty in sharing the presentation in another format other than via links. For instance, I was unable to post the program into this blog.
I also tried another storytelling program suggested by the blog, Metta. I was fairly surprised at how easy this program was to create presentations. Within a couple of clicks- easily identified by the program site- the creator can have an attractive and professional presentation. This presentation is a fairly short presentation, but did not take long to create. This would be a good program for educators that are looking for a fun way to present a quick story. Caring for the Elderly  (Please use password "elderly") A problem with this program is very similar to the problem I have with Powtoon; I am unable to load the presentation directly into the blog.
The final presentation software offered on the blog site was Camtasia. I watched the videos offered, but did not try to create anything. I have seen this presentation tool used in a statistics course I took and wanted to concentrate on learning new programs. While Camtasia offers a one month free trial, the cost of nearly $200 scared me a little. I am hoping other programs are available with similar features for a lesser cost.