Faculty perceptions of teaching on television: One school's experience

Videoteleconferencing (or teaching on television) represents a means of growing importance for distant learners to gain greater access to nursing education. Research has identified a number of key issues for nurse educators to consider related to videoteleconferencing: teaching/evaluation strategies, faculty workload, rewards and incentives, and support structures. The authors conducted an evaluation survey using a case study approach almed at describing the perceptions of a convenience sample of faculty members (n = 17) regarding their recent television experiences. The survey, conducted by means of a malled questionnaire, examined perceptions centering on sources of support, reception site logistics, rewards, teaching strategies, and future directions. Key findings included: overall, respondents percelved television teaching positively; reception site, administrative support, and peer support were important to faculty; additional preparation time was required for television teaching; teaching on television required changes in style and pedagogical strategies; and student-teacher interactions were affected by the medium. Findings have implications for the implementation of videoteleconferencing operations, recruitment of faculty for television teaching, and evaluation of videoteleconferencing operations.