Using text messaging in an undergraduate nursing course

Text messaging is a popular means of communication among young adults. Consequently, this mode of communication may be used to positively influence students in their academic studies. In this study, students were given the opportunity to receive text or e-mail messages regarding lecture content. Short message reminders, in the form of texts or e-mails, were used to send bite-sized course content to undergraduate nursing students. Messages included questions that would be answered in the next day's lecture or reiterated a main point presented in the previous day's lecture. Following a survey at the end of the course, text users responded positively toward this pedagogical approach and felt the use of text messaging enhanced their learning experience. E-mail users reported a short message reminder was moderately useful to their study of anatomy. These results suggest text messaging may be a valuable tool for educators as they seek to incorporate technology into the classroom.