| The use of the Internet and its associated technology in education are necessities at the 21st century university. Nursing faculty has, and continues to be, influenced by changes in the manner in which education is delivered. The changes are superimposed upon the traditional scholarship roles involving teaching, research, and service. In order to expand available knowledge about the overall influence of the Internet, the problem specifically addressed in this study was the lack of understanding of how the Internet is influencing higher education nursing faculty with regard to teaching, research, and service. This study was undertaken within a qualitative research framework. A narrative inquiry research design was used to achieve the purposes of the research. A purposive sample of 10 tenured academic-ranked nursing faculty who have taught at a south Texas state university for 15 or more years was obtained. Data were collected by means of face-to-face interviews. Using critical event narrative analysis, interview data were compiled into narrative characterizations of Internet usage and perceptions about its influence on the lived experience of university nursing faculty. As data were analyzed, categorized, and compared, using critical event analysis, the qualitative themes of access, quality, productivity, and connection emerged. The findings of this study revealed that access to information, the quality of information, the increase in faculty productivity , and connection with colleagues and students locally and around the world, have all had an impact on the faculty roles of teaching, research, and service. Although the Internet has increased efficiency, it is also implicated in the long hours spent accessing information required for teaching. The consensus among participants was that more time is needed to prepare for teaching because more information is now available. Workloads have changed, but have not kept pace with the requirements of the 21st century professoriate. This study provides a starting point for higher education administrators to re-envision roles and workloads of university nursing faculty. A larger campus-wide study is recommended to confirm the results and determine if there are discipline specific characteristics of Internet influence. |
