Leveraging Social Media: Use of VLOGS as Case Studies in an Online FNP Program

YouTUBE is online video repository for sharing user-created videos. Only videos that have been set to public sharing are searchable by keyword in the database.  Uploaded videos can provide a novel and inexpensive strategy to actively engage online learners. 

I use publically viewable video logs (VLOGs) to stimulate discussion around a clinical problems for women’s health topics.   This strategy exposes the student to real world, problem-based learning.  When teaching low risk pregnancy management, I select VLOGS  to exemplify particular pregnancy milestones.   I use keyword searches and my content objectives to guide the search and pre-select videos.  For example, a search for keywords: 28 weeks, pregnant, and VLOG, yields over 280,000 results.   Because of the cultural and ethnic diversity of users who post VLOGs, it is possible to present a diverse population of women so that students have the opportunity to consider perspectives that they may not otherwise see in their short obstetric/women’s health clinical.  The pre-selected cases are assigned to the students with a discussion cue.  Students present the case in the discussion board and are encouraged to stretch their clinical reasoning by addressing questions and concerns that are presented by the women in their VLOGS. Although I use this particular strategy for discussion in conventional discussion board, it could also be used in an online video chat or flipping the assignment to ask students to present VLOGs that they believe represent a  particular clinical problem.  

I will present best practices for searching for videos, framing student presentations to facilitate clinical reasoning, and explore other potential applications for using YouTUBE in the online teaching environment.