The digital age: A scoping review of nursing students' perceptions of the use of online discussion boards

In response to the ongoing challenges of managing large student enrolments, and an increasing demand from students for innovative, online learning platforms, virtual learning and teaching strategies are increasingly common in tertiary education. This is focused in undergraduate courses, including in professional areas of study such as nursing. These can be used both as engagement and assessment tools, and these platforms can include online interactive components such as discussion boards. There is a growing body of research evidence that supports the value of online discussion boards to meet key pedagogical aims (Campbell et al., 2008; Hudson, 2014; Osborne et al., 2018). There are two main types of online discussion boards, asynchronous (AOD), which allows participants to contribute at any time, and synchronous (SOD), where users must be online simultaneously (Campbell et al., 2008). The use of discussion boards as a platform for learning in specific areas such as nursing is quite common (Feng et al., 2013). Through AOD specifically, students can communicate their ideas and create thoughtful and composed dialogue that unfolds over time. This allows for individual reflection and exploratory learning, as well as the development of literacy skills (Abell and Williams, 2014; Campbell et al., 2008; Kala et al., 2010). Such processes support the constructivist approach to teaching and learning that frames such innovations; promoting active and deep learning. Concurrently, discussion boards promote social interaction to scaffold students' learning and knowledge development (Kala et al., 2010; McGarry et al., 2015).