On-line continuing education at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University

Abstract

The use of on-line continuing education overcomes the potential obstacles of time and distance and reduces the expenses associated with continuing education. The asynchronous nature of the delivery system allows participants to spend as much or little time with the materials as they choose, allows them to start and stop when they wish (within the access duration) and gives them the ability to access the materials repeatedly during the available timeframe. The on-line format breaks geographic barriers, making it an excellent tool for international education. Our experiences at Washington State University with online continuing education support the view that there is demand for on-line education from veterinary medical professionals, as well as from animal owners. The on-line delivery system that has evolved at Washington State University has been well received by the majority of participants. The design of the delivery system has been kept consistent and relatively simple, in order to allow use by participants using a wide variety of computers and methods of Internet access. The team approach used in the development of these courses proved effective and provided for more expedient development of new courses. The content provider was not required to use advanced technical skills to participate. The site designer used templates created by an experienced computer programmer to build the site. The format used in our on-line education programs has also been used in our veterinary curriculum. The didactic components of two small animal specialties are currently taught by content experts outside our college, using the format developed for distance education. The education continuum, from veterinary school to the self-directed, lifelong learning of a practicing veterinarian, is enhanced by exposure to distance education in the veterinary curriculum.