The progressive development of Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) implies the need to train health professionals in such field, for which e-learning and blended learning methods are increasingly been used. Most nurses lack experience and training in MIS, so a laparoscopic blended learning course for nursing has been created. To perform the validation of the online theoretical module of such course to evaluate student perception and satisfaction, sociability and usability metrics, and also the interest of nurses in blended learning. A quantitative design has been used. 24 nurses participated in the validation tests performing the online module of the course. Subjective (questionnaires) and objective (performance statistics) metrics were analysed. The e-learning environment has ease of access, good layout, consistency and intuitive navigation. Chat and forums have not been used and nurses miss a moderator. Participants consider that videos provide added value to the course, and contents are easily understandable and of high quality. However, questionnaires are not well balanced in difficulty and few interactive 3D designs have been viewed. Participants consider blended learning as the most effective training method for its flexibility in time and place. This study suggests that a simple, easy-to-use and attractive e-learning environment has been developed to train nurses in MIS. However, installation of additional software should be avoided. A moderator/tutor should manage forums to encourage user participation, using conversational agents. But nevertheless, chats have no interest. Questionnaires for content evaluation should be designed with efficiency and equity. Videos designed according to micro-learning, with audio and interactivity, should be included. These courses should be designed to meet factors to promote the engagement of students. Blended learning is considered by nurses as ideal method for training, but further research to assess whether it improves learning outcomes is needed.

Background: The implantation of Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) leads to the specialization of nurses in this surgical field. However, there is no standard curriculum of MIS Nursing in Europe. Spanish and Portuguese nurses are inexperienced and have poor training in MIS. For that, a blended learning course for nursing education in MIS (Lapnurse) has been developed. This work aims to detail the course design and to preliminary validate by experts its online theoretical module. Methods: Lapnurse consists of an online module with nine theoretical lessons and a face-to-face module with three practical lessons. The e-learning environment created to provide the online module, with didactic contents based on surgical videos and innovative 3D designs, has been validated by two technicians (functionality) and four nurses with teaching experience in MIS (usability and content). Results: The E-learning platform meets all technical requirements, provides whole and updated multimedia contents correctly applied for educational purposes, incorporates interactivity with 3D designs, and has an attractive, easy-to-use and intuitive design. Conclusions: The lack of knowledge in MIS of Spanish and Portuguese nurses could be addressed by the blended learning course created, Lapnurse, where the e-learning environment that provides theoretical training has obtained a positive validation.

Case 8 in Part 2 of the Handbook of soft skills training using virtual reality and serious games for surgical teams in the operating room

O contínuo desenvolvimento das Tecnologias da Informação e da Comunicação (TICs) conduz, como em outras áreas de atividade, à sua interligação com a educação, emergindo o campo de ação da tecnologia educativa. Como espaço de caráter formativo, torna-se indispensável efetuar uma persistente conceitualização consubstanciada na reflexão sobre a temática, no seu desenvolvimento ao longo do tempo e nas influências sociais associadas a ela. Considerando os múltiplos impactos de caráter socioeducativo fomentados pela tecnologia educativa, tendo sempre por base os seus principais pressupostos teóricos e conceituais, imprescindivelmente conectados a elementos basilares da área, como é o caso das representações que nos oferecem a conjugação dos conceitos de educação, didática e tecnologia, revela-se fundamental abordar, de igual forma, uma necessidade cotidiana premente, que surge enquadrada no espaço da literacia e da alfabetização tecnológica, essencial à plena consecução de uma integração social e educativa das tecnologias, permitindo abarcar toda a relevância nessas áreas na atualidade. Do ponto de vista da aplicabilidade das TICs como ferramentas educativas, englobando o seu potencial criador de espaços e contextos de ensino-aprendizagem e toda a contribuição que poderão facultar para incrementar a eficácia dos processos formativos, importa destacar a pertinência da integração da tecnologia educativa como elemento-chave de estratégias de desenvolvimento sustentado, representando um elemento fundamental para a otimização e potenciação formativa, no nível dos indivíduos, grupos e comunidades.