DR EBTISSAM AL-MADI Computers in Dental Education

The Role of computers in medical education Advantages of using computers in dental education Modes of computer-based learning Current applications Design, development and technology Evaluation

The Role of computers in medical education Goals of Medical Education:  Provide students with facts  Teach strategies to apply knowledge  Encourage development of skills necessary to acquire new knowledge over a lifetime of practice Facts to learn:  Physiological processes and relationships between observations and processes  Perform medical procedures, and their effects  Soft skills (Interpersonal, communication & interviewing skills, ethics)

Traditional teaching methods:  Lectures  Seminars  Apprenticeship  Experiential learning  Problem based  …ect  Computer Assisted Learning

Computer assisted learning Computer based education (CBE) Computer Aided instruction (CAI) Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) The application of Computer technology to education

Advantages of using computers in dental education Used to augment, enhance or replace traditional teaching Vast storage capacity can extend students memory and provide quick access to reference Multimedia can present a larger number of images than can be accessed by textbook Sounds, images, video clips and interactive teaching modules can enhance learning Training through virtual reality gaming Non-threatening environment Any time, any place, any pace learning

Modes of computer-based learning Drill and practice  Teaching material is presented and the student is quizzed and repeated till student perfects answers Ex: Didactic: The lecture  Record a lecture and store slides, videos, ect to be presented at a more suitable time. Advantage: time and space, disadvantage: Professor not available to respond during viewing lecture. Ex:

Discrimination Learning  Teaches student to differentiate between similar but different clinical manifestations. Ex: Oral Medicine tutorials Exploration vs structured interaction:  Allows student to experiment learning without structure, guidance or interference. Advantage: encourage experimentation and self discovery. Disadvantage: waste time, following unproductive paths. Ex:

Constrained vs unconstrained response  Responses can be predefined (single correct response) limiting choices. Or Program can have unlimited response (free text), or multiple choices. Construction:  Rebuilding knowledge through construction. Simulation:  Static or dynamic simulations of patients or procedures. Also immersive simulated environments can be available. Ex: lated lated

Dental simulators Dental gaming simulation- Implant Program

Feedback and guidance:  Supply why answers are correct or incorrect, or provide references. May include hints or advice. Intelligent tutoring systems:  Allow students to take independent action, but intervenes if student show misconception or goes down an unproductive path. May be coaching or tutoring system.

Current applications Preclinical applications:  Anatomy of teeth  Operative, prostho, endo treatment training Clinical teaching applications:  Treatment planning sessions  Patient chair-side manner and ethics training  Clinical reasoning and Diagnosis training  Oral medicine and pathology

Continuing medical/ Dental Education:  Lifelong learning  Medical/Dental Advancement training  Remove disadvantages of traditional continuing medical/dental education.  Provide in depth and evaluated education

Consumer Health Education:  Increase health of patients through increasing their knowledge  Allowing patients to be informed consumers of health care  Reduce problems of hearsay and uneducated information Distance learning:  Reach a wider number of participants without regard to location, time zone or pace of learning.  Reduce costs of traditional learning (Space, time and location).

Design, development and technology Structured Content:  Learning content is embedded inside the program Query, retrieval and indexing:  Ability for uses to index and retrieve information Authoring and presentation:  Programs are available for authors to write and present content Analysis and reasoning:  Intelligent systems that analyze the students use and identify possible needs.

Evaluation of CAL programs Reaction and assimilation:  Acceptability of the program Usability and cognitive evaluation:  View videotaped encounter with program, or student log of interaction with program Knowledge acquisition:  Is it more effective than traditional means of teaching the same material? Problem solving and behavioral change:  Measurement of skill acquired or behavior change or ability to solve problems.

Conclusion CAL systems can help students master content, knowledge, gain skills and change behavior. CAL can help students become independent and life- long learners. There is a challenge to produce effective motivating CAL programs.

This weeks assignments Log on to View this lecture online for review. 2. Article this week: suggested reading only 3. Participate in discussion: Compare traditional methods of continuing medical/dental education and CAL methods. Mention advantages and disadvantages. ViewRead Discuss