Lemmens The Virtual Challenge to International Cooperation in Higher Education Bernd Wächter (ed.) Aca papers on International Cooperation in Education The V irtual Challenge to International Cooperation in Higher Education

The nursing informatics course
In the University of Iceland’s master’s programme in nursing students are
required to take five to fifteen out of 60 credits at a foreign university. The
credit systems in the four schools are different. After comparison and discus-
sion, the course was set to be worth nine ECTS credit points. The credits
from the course could therefore be easily transferred from one system to
another. In the three Nordic countries, the course counted as an elective
course in nursing. The number of participants in the course was 60, of whom
15 came from Iceland, 30 from Iowa, eight from Norway and seven from
Sweden. Students participating needed to have access to the Internet and 
e-mail, and a basic knowledge of standard software, such as Word and Excel.
To give the reader some feeling for what a course in nursing informatics is all
about, it must be stated that primary attention was given to:
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databases and information systems to support patient care and
knowledge development;
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electronic health care records;
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clinical, educational, research and administrative computer applications;
and 
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policy, legal and ethical issues.
Specific emphasis was on incorporating expertise from the four universities.
The course drew upon a variety of telecommunication and computer-based
technologies, but also on face-to-face communication. In the first year, WebCT
courseware was used throughout. In the second year, “Beyond The Curve”
software was used. Each student maintained a home page and interacted
regularly via e-mail and bulletin boards. Real-time chat room discussions were
held and regular online office hours for student-faculty interaction were pro-
vided. All course readings and assignments were accessible on the Internet.
The grade book function supported self-monitoring of student progress.
Although English was the primary language used, students were encouraged
to use their respective native languages as well. Three two-hour interactive
video conferences, scheduled at one-month intervals, enriched the web-based
course. Students submitted course assignments and shared projects electroni-
cally. All four faculty members collaborated in review and grading.
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