Informal mobile learning in nurse education and practice in remote areas—A case study from rural South Africa

Abstract

s u m m a r y a r t i c l e i n f o Background: With the proliferation of portable digital technology, mobile learning is becoming increasingly popular in nursing education and practice. Most of the research in this field has been concentrated on small-scale projects in high income countries. Very little is known about the ways in which nurses and midwives use mobile technology in remote and resource poor areas in informal learning contexts in low and middle income countries. Objectives: To address this gap, this study investigates whether nurses use mobile phones as effective educational tools in marginalized and remote areas, and if so, how and why. Setting and Methods: In rural South Africa, 16 nurses who attended an advanced midwifery education program, facilitators and clinical managers were interviewed about their use of digital mobile technology for learning. Techniques of qualitative content analysis were used to examine the data. Results: Several rich "organically-grown", learning practices were identified: mobile phone usage facilitated (1) authentic problem solving; (2) reflective practice; (3) emotional support and belongingness; (4) the realization of unpredictable teaching situations; and (5) life-long learning. Conclusions: It is concluded that mobile phones, and the convergence of mobile phones and social media, in particular, change learning environments. In addition, these tools are suitable to connect learners and learning distributed in marginalized areas. Finally, a few suggestions are made about how these insights from informal settings can inform the development of more systematic mobile learning formats.

Examining the progression of mobile technologies and their applications to learning environment: Implications for m-learning in Africa

“…However, as the Internet penetrates further into these countries, indications are that mobile technology will be a great treasure for education, especially in Africa. This can be validated by the recent studies of Pimmer et al (2014) who found, contrary to Valk et al (2010) that mobile phones are capable of enhancing learning in rural and low-income areas. This could be ascribed to the escalating access to mobile devices.…”

“…Pimmer et al (2014) observed in the South African study that the nurses had some restrictions in the use of mobile devices and social media. In some instances, they were banned from using these devices.…”

Mobile learning in nursing "m-learning"<p>Hemşirelikte mobil öğrenme “m-öğrenme”

“…Alvarez, Sasso, and Iyegar (2015) studied mobile virtual learning and nursing students' evaluation of acute pain; it appears that technology has made a positive contribution to learning acute pain assessment using mobile devices. Pimmer et al (2014) reported that nursing students use mobile learning as an effective problem solving method in the process of solving problems related to the illness. It shows that the use of technology is applicable in higher education in nursing and that it creates an innovative process for teaching / learning by influencing the ways in which learners develop knowledge (Alvarez et al, 2015).…”

A pilot of the use of Short Message Service (SMS) as a training tool for anaesthesia nurses

“…12 In rural South Africa a group of nurses reported several 'organically grown' mobile-telephone-based practices facilitating learning, including reflective practice, emotional support and teaching in unpredictable situations. 13 The success of mLearning in the developing world has been well documented in African rural healthcare workers treating infectious diseases, 9,10,12 but only one study, on nurses screening for breast cancer in Iran, was found in a hospital-based setting. 11 Documentation of its efficacy in an African hospital-based scenario was not found and it has not been proved in anaesthesia nurses.…”