E-learning activities to complement education in cariology for undergraduate students

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate activities performed in an e-learning platform after 2-year of implementation in terms of contents and functionality. Material and Methods: Elearning courses were prepared and created by two lecturers. Contents were intended for last year undergraduate students attending the pediatric dentistry discipline, and included different topics considered as relevant to the area. Given tele-courses from 2010-2012 as well as statistics and contents, provided by the platform, were collected for analysis. Results: Five tele-courses were proposed and the total participation was 322 students (mean-per-course±SD=64.4±17.2). On average, 15 tutors/course accompanied the process. Caries lesion detection and fluoride therapy were discussed in all modules, but different activities were focused in various aspects. Other topics were also included: caries activity (60%), caries risk assessment, oral hygiene and clinical examination (40%). Two lecturers were responsible for preparing exercises and tutors helped in the creation, revision and correction. The main type of validation was open questions (83%). A High level of students, access was observed during the 2-year-period (mean-per-course±SD=21372±6775,2). More than 32000 external visits of the topics were also seen. On average, 14 tutor/student feedbacks were sent per student in each tele-course. Conclusion: The use of an e-learning system has been used especially to complementing teaching in caries detection and management using fluorides. Telecourses have been highly accessed by undergraduate students and also, external participants.