High Tech, High Touch™

Classrooms—asynchronous components American National University’s Callista School of Nursing uses the Canvas learning management system (LMS). Canvas is used to store course resources for the learners, to include syllabi, textbooks, the online library, assignment instructions, and rubrics. Additionally, all tests, quizzes, and assignments are submitted through Canvas. Instructors give detailed, meaningful feedback in the interactive Canvas gradebook. The student can refer to the feedback not only throughout the course, but also throughout enrollment.

Maintaining Integrity in Online Assessment
The following measures will be utilized to ensure the integrity of online assessments:
• Set clear expectations based on established policies for academic dishonesty
• Ask challenge questions specific to a student before accessing an exam
• Live online proctoring
• Lockdown browsers
• Use of Turnitin for text originality
• Exam time limits
• Present test questions one at-a-time

Classrooms—synchronous components
In addition to the asynchronous components managed within the LMS, each class has a synchronous component. The synchronous component of classes mirrors the traditional brick and mortar classes by conducting classes via Zoom. Via Zoom, students demonstrate all the same didactic proficiency and skills they did in physical classrooms. Our medical assisting program has been offering with success its competency skills labs via Zoom for several years now. Students receive lab kits with everything they need to practice and demonstrate competencies before caring for patients during their externships.

Courses with a Lab Component

Students in fully online courses will receive lab kits to be used in each course with a lab component. The lab kits will include all the supplies and equipment needed for the student to learn the nursing skills respective to the didactic as per the syllabus. Lab kits should be retained from one class to the next for future use, unless otherwise indicated by the instructor of the course. Students will perform lab requirements and demonstrate competency in lab courses during online, synchronous courses. Online, synchronous courses are conducted with videoconferencing software.

In addition to lab kits, which may include such items as dissection kits for anatomy & physiology courses or nursing skills training simulators and manikins, students also receive digital resources, such as digital microscopes through eScience for microbiology courses and Oculus headsets for clinical simulation to ensure students have exposure to a full range of clinical situations versus being limited to those they may encounter at the clinical facility.

Simulation

Up to 50% of clinical hours for each course may be completed using simulation. Upon completion of the nursing prerequisite courses, students will receive an Oculus headset to complete their simulated clinical hours. It is recommended that even students who commute to clinical sites weekly complete at least a portion of their clinical hours in a supervised simulation setting to build clinical judgment skills.

Simulation sessions are conducted using the UbiSim virtual reality (VR) platform. Students will engage in VR experiences as participants and observers during synchronous, remote class sessions. Instructors will supervise and assess the VR simulation using direct observation, as well as the tools embedded within the UbiSim scenarios. There will be pre and post conferences for discussion, critical thinking, and to establish clear expectations for each team member. There will also be scenario debriefing to allow participants to review their actions during the scenario.

Library resources

American National University subscribes to Library & Information Resources Network (LIRN) as its primary library resource. LIRN includes resources specific to nurses within the Ovid databases, Emcare and Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) EBP databases. Other valuable resources included within LIRN include ProQuest, which includes ProQuest Central and Ebook Central, Skillsoft Books, and Gale Silver Core. In addition to academic library resources, the librarian is available via chat or by appointment. The Writing Center is also available through the library.