title: Are Virtual Classrooms Colorblind?
abstract: E-learning, increasingly employed in nursing education, has been embraced as a means to enhance options for all students, particularly those with limited educational opportunities. Although a desire to increase access for underserved students is often cited, disparities in availability, usage, and quality of e-learning persist among diverse households and student populations when compared to the general population. In this article, these issues will be examined along with reflection on the extent to which culture has been integrated into on-line design and instruction. Historical and cultural aspects, circumscribing virtual classrooms, are discussed using African Americans as an exemplar. The imperative to harness the democratizing potential of this educational format is underscored. In this article, culture will be examined in light of the significant growth in on-line nursing education over the past several decades.
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor of Nursing, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106.. Electronic address: cmk61@case.edu.
authors.forename: Cheryl M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Killion
authors.affiliation: Professor of Nursing, Professional Program in Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI, 54311.. Electronic address: gallaghs@uwgb.edu.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gallagher-Lepak
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor of Nursing, Professional Program in Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Green-Bay, WI, 54311.. Electronic address: reillyj@uwgb.edu.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reilly
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D003469:Culture; D066310:Digital Divide; D020375:Education, Distance / Q000379:methods*; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; D006801:Humans; D013338:Students, Nursing
keywords: African Americans; Culture; Digital divide; E-learning; Nursing education; Virtual classroom