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The training of a new critical care nurse is not solely the transmission of a determined body of knowledge or skill set. When one begins to consider what actually makes a critical care nurse a critical care nurse, one realizes that the training is much more complex. It involves the teaching of appropriate thought processes, and use of the body of knowledge and/or skill set in application with respect to a specific patient, disease state, or a group of symptoms. Teaching a new critical care nurse to think, talk, act, and respond like a critical care nurse is just as important as sharing knowledge--that is what makes a critical care nurse. This article summarizes one hospital's critical care training program and orientation for new critical care nurses with and without critical care experience. This is done in pursuit of excellence in patient care, by providing a comprehensive and complete, full-service training program. All nurses deserve the very best education and training-our patients demand it.

Providing just-in-time job-embedded professional learning using a technologically mediated model achieves professional growth goals and encourages teachers to build digital literacy competencies and incorporate new technologies in instructional approaches in the classroom. This article highlights the lessons learned from an award-winning professional learning program developed by the Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning program (ABEL), a Research and Innovation initiative at York University in Toronto, Canada. Ongoing research into this program reveals that teachers who are learning via technologies refine their understanding of digital literacy, and develop curriculum designs and instructional strategies that facilitate differentiated instruction through digitally mediated designs, increase student engagement in learning, and improve student achievement.

This article reports on the implementation and impact of two blended models of teacher professional learning that promote innovative classroom practice and improved literacy and numeracy in six school districts in Ontario, Canada. The Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning Program (ABEL), situated at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, transforms how teachers learn and teach through a strategic blend of face-to-face interaction, technological tools and resources, online interaction and support. Learning Connections (LC), its sister project, uses the same model to improve literacy and numeracy in school districts. Research into the impact of both programs reveals increased student engagement and achievement, enhanced teacher efficacy, and improved results in literacy and numeracy. This report presents the findings from two participant surveys conducted in one large suburban board just north of Toronto, and one large rural board in Northern Ontario, and demonstrates how the working definition of literacy that teachers use in the classroom is being transformed by their use of technology in the classroom.

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