Utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Online Teaching

Abstract

The study aimed to determine the extent of the utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in virtual teaching among nursing faculty at the University of Cebu College of Nursing Campuses. The researcher used a mixed method that incorporates quantitative and qualitative philosophies. The quantitative component uses a descriptive design to analyze nurse educators’ use of ICT in online teaching, employing frequencies, percentages, weighted means, and rankings. For the qualitative component, the study employed a single-case design to explore narratives from nurse educators about ICT implementation in online teaching. The study revealed that most nursing educators have a high level of ICT usage in online teaching. Communicating through social media to connect with other teachers and students, and then using social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Viber, and WhatsApp) to communicate with students, reflects a high level of ICT usage in online teaching. On the other hand, fourteen emergent themes were identified in the informants’ responses and classified under two overarching themes that addressed the sub-problems. The first overarching theme, which is on the Difficulties in Online Teaching Setting, has generated eleven emergent themes, namely: Lack of Digital Skills, Limited ICT Resources, Poor Internet Connection, Anxiety towards Technology Usage, Environmental Distraction, Financial Struggle, Lack of Time, Threat to Academic Integrity, Absence of Teacher Presence, Miscommunication of Information, and Technostress. The second overarching theme, which is on the Aspirations to Improve Online Teaching, has three (3) emergent themes. These emergent themes are Training, Procurement of ICT Equipment, and Financial Support. In conclusion, the nurse educators extensively utilized ICT in online education during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the utilization of ICT is influenced by the difficulties that nurse educators experienced while striving to enhance the quality of online teaching.