How E-Learning Can Affect the Future of the Dental Industry
Introduction The future is now in the dental industry, but has the dental industry caught up? Increasingly dental hygiene education and dental schools are continually asking themselves, how can we provide the needed information that dentists and dental hygienists need faster? Of course, lecture classrooms will always be there and provide a definite need, but how effective are lecture classes? After all, the time goes pretty fast in a lecture format. However, e-learning to supplement lectures may serve a critical need. For one thing, making the information available in an e-learning format allows students to go over the material once, twice, even three times if necessary to absorb the material. For another, e-learning sets the general pattern for how dental educators would like a student to think about the material. Yet many educators in dental schools may resist e-learning in Dentistry, in favor of the traditional lecture-only format. After all, it takes additional time to break lecture notes down into a suitable e-learning format.
The Future of e-learning in dental industry The use of e-learning is growing fast in all areas of academia, including dental education. Studies have shown that e-learning is simply a quicker way to learn in virtually any industry. For example, a major British company found that by the use of e-learning they could provide their technicians with valuable and needed information in a matter of three months what it took other forms of education to provide and at roughly less than 2/3rds of the cost. The same applies to the field of dental education. For example, a major trend in the use of e-learning in the dental field is in educating already experienced dentists and dental hygienists in the use of the latest techniques in advancements in the field. In this way, e-learning greatly accelerates now technologies in the dental field without those professionals needing to stop their practice and return to school.
Software development solution
Going hand in hand with e-learning are Web application development solutions which 9 times out of 10 revolves around new apps for smartphones. The modern smartphones have hundreds of e-learning development applications, and nothing can stop dentistry education proponents for developing apps for dental students and professionals cell phones that allow them to quickly absorb the material, particularly when they involve instructional videos.
Online academic resource for dental industry The Dale Foundation at http://www.dalefoundation.org/, the American Dental Association at http://www.ada.org/en/, DentalCare.com at http://www.dentalcare.com/en-US/home.aspx, and Density IQ at http://www.dentistryiq.com/index.html are just a few of the websites that offer tons of e-learning for those in the dental industry. In the future, the American Dental Education Association hopes to be foremost on that list. They are partnering with Chetu,(Chetu.com) a major software developer to provide the most complete e-learning platform for those Inc. the dental industry on the web.
The bottom line The future is very bright for e-learning in the dental profession. With e-learning, dental educators can fill the gaps that the traditional lecture format leaves out. And with apps to guide experienced professionals, new innovations in dentistry can quickly become common practice.