The transition to online teaching as experienced by nurse educators.

CHANGING ONE'S ROLE, "FROM AUTHORITY FIGURE TO FACILITATOR" (JOHNSON, 2008, P. 17), MAY BE A CHAL LENGE FOR NURSE FACULTY STRIVING TO COMPLEMENT EXISTING TEACHING MODALITIES WITH ONLINE LEARNING. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions, experiences, and needs of nurse faculty as they transition from traditional classroom instruction to an online teaching environment. It is hoped that using a phenomenological approach to understand and illuminate the "lived worlds" (Richards & Morse, 2007, p. 52) of faculty, will lead to greater empowerment of nurse educators during the transition to online learning. With the rapid growth of Internet accessibility, nursing programs are using a combination of approaches to instruction (Bargagliotti, 2006), and numerous examples of the growing use of online technology in higher education are discussed in the literature (Doutrich, Hoeksel, Wykoff, & Thiele, 2005; Edwards, 2005; Hill, 2009; Kreideweis, 2005; Means, Toyama, Murphy, Bakia, & Jones, 2009). Many faculty approach the transition to online education with limited experience developing and teaching online courses (Barker, 2003; Jairath & Stair, 2004; Zsohar & Smith, 2008). Method With these concerns in mind, a modified heuristic approach was used to discover, seek, and find the meaning of lived experiences of nurse faculty transitioning to online teaching environments. Six phases of heuristic research, as described by Moustakas (1994), guided the research design: "initial engagement, immersion into the topic and question, incubation, illumination, explication, and culmination of research into a creative synthesis" (p. 18). The research culminated in a synthesis of common, repetitive themes, reducing the lived experiences of participants to a central meaning, or essence, of the experience (Moustakas). SAMPLE Purposive sampling was used to obtain a sample of 20 nurse faculty from seven college/university schools of nursing in the Midwest who met the criteria of having taught nursing courses in the classroom setting prior to teaching online. After receiving institutional review board approval, personal telephone/email contact was made with potential participants. Written informed consent was obtained prior to each audiotaped interview session. All participants were white females who held advanced degrees; 12 held doctorates in nursing or education and 8 were prepared at the master's level. Their ages ranged from 30 to 69, with 10 participants 50 to 59 years of age. The participants were seasoned educators; 14 had taught for 10 years or more. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS The interviews took place in person. Each interview began with the central research question: "What was your personal experience with transitioning from teaching in the classroom to online instruction?" Using NVivo7 software (QSR International, Doncaster, Victoria, Australia), the transcribed interview data were analyzed according to the six phases of heuristic research to uncover common patterns and themes. Participants were asked to review the transcript of their interviews to validate their responses. Findings Research participants were asked to share their lived experiences of the transition from teaching in a classroom setting to online teaching. A pattern of progression can be noted in their combined experiences. Even with all their struggles, faculty made progress and adapted to online teaching. TAKING MORE TIME The amount of time needed to teach in the new environment was the predominant theme, strongly expressed by participants. References to time and students' perception of faculty always being available are illustrated by this comment: "Online equals double my time." Participants spoke of needing and wanting more time to explore the online environment. Preparation time was described as essential: "Probably [pause] I had a misconception that teaching online was going to save me time and it was just the opposite, it actually takes more time to teach online than it does in the classroom. …