Continuing Education Online (e-Learning) Dr. James Powers, Jr.

Training via the Internet (e-Learning) is a pretty popular topic in the corporate sector, but many dentists may not have seen or heard of it before. E-Learning has a growing number of supporters and with good reason. According to the Gartner Group, the knowledge retention of e-Learning is twice as high and happens at half the cost of live classroom training. Training Magazine reported that e-Learning has 50-60% better consistency of learning than traditional classroom training. Online students have more peer contact with others in the class, enjoy it more, understand the material better, and perform 20% better than in the traditional classroom. So what has been keeping dentists away from e-Learning? One answer is the misrepresentation of what e-Learning really is.

It’s Not Reading Text Off the Web – Not Anymore
The truth is that e-Learning has specific attributes. Unlike reading web text, it is truly a collaborative experience. Students interact with instructors and with other students in a live Internet-based virtual classroom, mimicking the same type of interaction you would enjoy at a conference. Visuals are animated and interactive to engage the viewer to learn. An August 2000, a Forrester Research study found that training is least effective when it is “reduced to simple reading ” especially when the text is presented on computer monitors. The good news for dentists is that the best e-Learning courses only require things that most dentists already have, a dial-up connection from a computer and a separate phone line--no additional equipment is required.

Dr. Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager at EDT Learning’s Studio A

How Can e-Learning Benefit Dentistry?
The immediate benefit for the clinician is the productivity and cost savings derived from not having to travel and the associated loss of “chair-time”. Many clinicians have not been willing to give up attending conferences for continuing education because they enjoy the interaction of other dentists in a group learning setting. Training professionals agree that e-Learning is not a replacement for in-person training, and the best way to expand skills is through a blended solution of classroom learning and e-Learning. Clearly, more dentists are integrating computer and Internet use into their professionals and personal lives. According to a report in a 2000 issue of the JADA, 97% of dentists use the Internet at home and 68% used it in the office. Reduction of professional isolation was one of the most frequently cited advantages of using the Internet.

Who Has Already Embraced e-Learning?
Most business sectors are deeply invested in e-Learning. Corporate e-Learning expenditures totaled $2.2 billion in 2000 and will climb to $11.5 billion by 2003, according to the International Data Corporation. Ninety-two percent of all large corporations established web-based learning pilots in 1999, according to the Masie Center. And who is learning this way? Everyone. McDonalds has developed e-Learning programs to train workers to train workers to make French fries. Dr. Ken Blanchard, co-author of the One-Minute Manager recently used e-Learning to train leadership principals. E-Learning has reached the mainstream partly because the technology has become easy to use.

E-Learning Within the Dental Industry?
Product manufacturers were the first to use e-Learning as a method to train the dispersed dental community about new upgrades and features of their products. They are enjoying tremendous success reaching and educating practices they could not communicate with previously. But the most practical application may be also the most beneficial for the dentist. Software training on practice management software systems instead of onsite visits and just-in-time knowledge will empower dentists with new capabilities and better information source options. The industry gurus are also starting to see the potential of e-Learning including Dr. Clifford Ruddle, DDS who will host an hour of online training discussing Advanced Endodontics on February 22 from the EDT Learning studios.

We believe the technology has now reached a level that e-Learning is accessible to everyone – especially the dentist.

Dr. James Powers, Jr., has served as Chairman, President and CEO of EDT Learning since December 1998. Dr. Powers guided the Company through transformation from a dental practice management company to a custom e-Learning solution provider. Dr. Powers joined the Company through the merger with Liberty Dental Alliance, Inc where he was the Founder, Chairman and President. He received a Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree from The University of Tennessee and received his MBA from Vanderbilt University’s University's Owen Graduate School of Management. To request a demo or for more information about EDT Learning, visit www.edtlearning.com or phone EDT at 602-952-1200.