How an App may help students learn

Background: The widespread use of mobile phones and students’ expectations to use digital mobile technology in all learning settings, offered an opportunity to develop an up-to-date easily accessible resource for students... [ view full abstract ]

Background: The widespread use of mobile phones and students’ expectations to use digital mobile technology in all learning settings, offered an opportunity to develop an up-to-date easily accessible resource for students – the One Touch Midwifery App.

Aim and objectives: To develop the One Touch Midwifery App which has instantly accessible, relevant information for midwifery students to use on or off campus in preparation for class. In addition, when students are on clinical placement they can access information from the App before or after a shift, or when on a break during a shift.

Description of innovation: The midwifery education team employed a software designer to build the App. They provided her with current, evidence-based midwifery content to upload to the App. The content included links to online resources that the students can access without cost, for example, the local Department of Health policy directives and guidelines. A copyright advisor was consulted regarding copyright issues. The One Touch Midwifery App is now available on both Google (Android) and Apple (iPhone) platforms. The App is free to our students with an access code and it has been available for use since the start of this year.

Impact of the innovation: To evaluate the App, students and clinical educators/facilitators were asked to complete a survey. Initial feedback is positive however further analysis of the findings are being completed and these findings will be presented at the conference.

Conclusions and implications: This is the first App to be developed specifically for midwifery students. To date, it has been evaluated as useful. Additional evaluation on the use of the App and its acceptance in clinical practice is currently being conducted. Further work will also need to be conducted to improve its usability.