With the recent advent of conveniences such as video-on-demand through cable TV providers or streaming video allowing viewing of full-length broadcast television shows and feature films as well as Web-only content through the Internet, who needs a TV Guide anymore...other than to program your DVR so you can watch your favorite shows according to your schedule. Introverts may prefer to “cocoon” inside their homes and watch what they want when they want—on their widescreen hi-def LCD with 7.1 Dolby digital surround sound—but many extroverted consumers still enjoy the interaction of others at cinemas and live theater events. And most balance the active with the passive through some combination. 

The same goes for education. Innovations in digital media now afford more alternatives than ever to students in any field who desire or require the option of distance learning without the expenses involved with traveling, while also permitting groups to converge at a central location to experience communal learning provided electronically from afar.

	Global classroom XPdent’s new Webinars allow technicians anywhere in the world to learn basic theory on Bredent attachments. This can then be followed up with in-person hands-on training at XPdent’s education facility in Miami. On-line, in-touch With the launch of their own interactive Webinars, SafeLink consultants now can guide laboratory owners through regulatory changes by highlighting onscreen the sections of the operations manual affected while the owner follows along with a hard copy.

Today, in our industry, laboratory owners, managers, and technicians have a variety of e-learning opportunities to draw from.

“Our idea has been to provide the Webinars that follow as closely as possible the model of a live presentation of one of our seminars at any of the given trade shows,” said Charlie Rivas, CDT, Technical Education Coordinator at XPdent.

The online programs comprise a PowerPoint presentation that allows Rivas to guide participants through the course instruction while they listen over a telephone or speaker phone. In addition, a small chat window sits at the side of the screen (and can be hidden by the viewer at any time) to allow participants to post text questions during the presentation. “At certain intervals throughout the presentation, I’ll pause and take the list of questions and address them to the group,” Rivas said. At the end of the presentation, Rivas then conducts a question-and-answer period to verbally follow up on any questions that need clarification and were left unanswered during the program, or that came up at the end.

“We want technicians to feel comfortable to ask questions,” said Rivas, noting that attendees at live courses often forgo asking questions. He believes the anonymity factor of online programs may help bring participants out of this shell for their own benefit and that of the group. “Nobody should be embarrassed to ask questions.”

According to Rivas, there is no limit to the number of technicians who can view any of the online programs from a single registration. However, anyone who wishes to take the follow-up Webinar quiz for CE credit after the program is completed must register individually. Nonetheless, he encourages shared viewing for non-credit learning. “If a department head or a laboratory owner pays for a Webinar, and they want to share the content with employees who they feel would benefit from the content, then okay,” he said. “They can host it and have a group of people watching it.” Rivas also notes that registration is required and there can be only up to 30 registered connections to any of its Webinars at any one time, mainly because of technological limitations such as Internet bandwidth (visit www.xpdent.com/webinars.aspx for course details including schedules).

Because the Webinars are based on XPdent’s hands-on courses, they reflect only the theoretical portion of the training. According to Rivas, if a technician takes the Webinar, then registers for the corresponding hands-on workshop at the XPdent training facility in Miami, the registration fee for the Webinar will be deducted from the full tuition for the workshop training. In addition, the Webinars are recorded so attendees can later watch the recorded video at their own pace.

However, in certain instances, the immediacy afforded by online programs that can be taken from any computer with Internet access is precisely what makes them such an attractive option for busy professionals. Conventional education courses require complicated logistics such as scheduling of speakers, physical space set-up, travel to and from the training location, time away from family and work, meals and, oftentimes, lodging. With Webinars, the programs can be presented almost spontaneously, accessed from anywhere in the world, and directed at a class size as small as a single participant. “All they need is a speaker phone and an Internet connection,” said Rivas.

He does add that the participants in XPdent’s Webinars are not shy about computers and cyber technology. “We find that technicians, who have experience using the Internet and who are in the habit of using a computer in their business and personal lives, are more inclined to go online and take these Webinars,” he said, adding that all of the technicians who have registered for the XPdent Webinars have taken Webinars elsewhere as well.

In addition to open-ended Webinars based on PowerPoint programs and accompanying telephone interactivity covering broad topics, the online format also applies very well to sessions focused on specific aspects of a single topic or to a targeted audience.

Mary Borg, President and Co-Founder of SafeLink Inc., conducts lectures and workshops on laboratory safety and compliance issues in laboratories and at trade shows around the country, in addition to providing in-laboratory risk management consultation. As part of its audit services, SafeLink also provides clients with telephone and e-mail consultation throughout the year. They have expanded this to include Webinars regarding compliance update issues that allow the clients to track any regulatory changes that have been mandated. With the online functions, Borg said she can make her Webinars more interactive, engaging, and informative by highlighting specific areas on the monitor relating to specific topics as she address them verbally.

“When we need to notify our clients of compliance updates that they need to make to their programs, they use the information that we developed for them, while we show them the changes or revisions on the computer,” she said. “We want them to know why the changes are required, not just send out the necessary changes. It’s just a great way to get information out and make it convenient.”

In addition, Borg said the Webinar format is perfect for large corporate clients who have multiple locations. Currently, she conducts quarterly one-hour conference calls with client safety coordinators to address three specific topics, but plans to expand that with the Webinars to enhance communication both ways.

Although the first SafeLink Webinars will be for clients only, Borg hopes to develop regular short Web programs open to all labs that will focus on specific subjects. “When we are speaking at a meeting, we are trying to cover so much information in a short amount of time,” she said. “We can offer Webinars on specific topics, targeted to the audience. The attendee would select a topic that he or she needs more information on rather than listening to a presentation that is covering a a small portion of a broad topic.”

R. Max Schulze. CDT, MDT, also provides business consultation services and audits for dental laboratory owners through his company TechQuest. After a rather extensive extreme laboratory makeover audit, he often generates a written report for the owner that can run 150-plus pages. “Today, it’s easier just to put it all down on video,” he said. “I create a DVD and send it to the customers so they can look at it at any time. The owners really grasp the changes that need to take place a lot easier than by reading a lengthy report.”

Schulze said he also plans to offer audio and video blogs to clients that will address their specific questions and concerns.

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