“Being in the digital box”. Academic staff experiences in online practical teaching: A qualitative study from six universities and countries
Cigdem Baskici,
Aydan Aytar,
Halil Ersoy,
Camilla Wiktsröm-Grotell,
Marina Arell-Sundberg,
Hugo Neves,
Verónica Coutinho,
Aurelija Blaževičienė,
Alina Vaškelytė,
Anne Söderlund,
Johanna Fritz,
Raimonds Strods,
Nora Jansone-Ratinika,
Sultan Kav
Affiliations
Cigdem Baskici
Department of Healthcare Management, Başkent University, Ankara, Turkey; Corresponding author.
Aydan Aytar
Department of Orthopedic Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, University of Health Sciences, Ankara, Turkey
Halil Ersoy
Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology, Başkent University, Ankara, Turkey
Camilla Wiktsröm-Grotell
Graduate School and Research, Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Physiotherapy, School of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden
Marina Arell-Sundberg
School of Engineering, Culture and Wellbeing, Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki, Finland
Hugo Neves
Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing, Nursing School of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Verónica Coutinho
Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing, Nursing School of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Aurelija Blaževičienė
Department of Nursing, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
Alina Vaškelytė
Department of Nursing, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
Anne Söderlund
Graduate School and Research, Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Physiotherapy, School of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden
Johanna Fritz
Department of Physiotherapy, School of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden
Raimonds Strods
Centre for Educational Growth, Rīga Stradiņš University, Rīga, Latvia
Nora Jansone-Ratinika
Centre for Educational Growth, Rīga Stradiņš University, Rīga, Latvia
Sultan Kav
Department of Nursing, Başkent University, Ankara, Turkey
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused radical changes in education, as in everything else, bringing many challenges. Despite all the difficulties, the COVID-19 pandemic has enormous opportunities for online teaching and the use of digital technologies. A comprehensive understanding of this period is needed to investigate these opportunities. Thus, this study aims to explore the academic staff's experiences of online teaching and the use of digital technologies in practical skills-based courses in health care education. This study was conducted at six universities from six countries (Türkiye, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Latvia, Lithuania). Data were collected between June 17, 2021 and November 30, 2021 via a focus group with an in-depth interview technique. 22 focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 117 participants. Colaizzi's method was used to evaluate the data to discover, comprehend, and define the experiences of academic staff. The analysis of the interview data resulted in 6 themes, 25 subthemes and 56 categories that captured participants' experiences regarding online teaching of practical skills and using digital technologies in health care education. The findings of the study provide crucial information that will help online teaching and digital technology for practical skills be successfully integrated.
