Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)
What Can Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Mean for You?
Nicola Docherty, Resource Officer and CPD Adviser
I am going to briefly talk about technology enhanced learning, TEL for short, and what it could mean for you working as a dental professional.
What is TEL?
Well, it is any technology that enhances the learning experience and to improve the education for you, the audience, using technology.
How does TEL or digital learning work?
Online education comes in 2 forms of course, one is synchronous learning where participants learn at a specific time with other learners and the speaker on a fixed date. A good example of this would be the webinars NES runs in the evenings and at lunchtimes. These are live learning events. The other form is asynchronous learning, which is usually pre-recorded or specifically designed educational resources that allow participants the flexibility to access their learning according to their own schedule and needs. An example of this would be the videos on NES Portal TV.
So, what are the benefits of technology enhanced learning?
I feel the main 2 benefits are flexibility and accessibility. You can access your learning at a time that suits you from any mobile device and from anywhere - at home, at work or even travelling. The pandemic forced NES and the dental profession to adapt very quickly to accessing our education online – steep learning curves for us all. However, this change in the way we deliver our education has opened opportunities to offer different topics and engaging new speakers. We can also access different digital platforms for our learning, for example GoTo, Zoom and Teams which all have free access and easy to download on all our devices.
How can NHS Education aid your TEL journey?
I am part of the CPD team who are here to support dental professionals by designing and organising quality digital education. We offer a broad selection of live and recorded webinars for you to access via Portal and Portal TV. These are an effective way to gain verifiable CPD. There are also various Blended Learning courses available. These are courses that are a mixture of online and face to face education. Topics include Tooth Wear, Sedation, Posterior Composites and a brand new Glass Lonomer Course. We are currently exploring how to organise Hybrid events, which would include a mixture of participants attending in person and streaming it live for those who would rather participate at home or from work.
Digital resources are currently being designed for dental professionals and are available on Turas Learn. Some are free, but some will have a small cost attached. Please make sure you have registered for Turas Learn to open a whole wide range of educational resources, which will provide guidance and support to enhance your ongoing professional development. You will find topics such as radiography, photography, endodontics, infection control, smoking cessation, autism and many more. We would however appreciate your feedback and suggestions for more subjects that you would like to see as part of our suite of courses.
I feel digital learning is part of an exciting future of dental education, as it makes our learning more interactive and accessible for all dental professionals. I look forward to hearing from you and any suggestions you have.
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