Odell E W, Francis C A, Eaton K A, Reynolds P A, Mason R D
Dept. Oral Medicine and Pathology, King's College London Dental Institute, Guy's Hospital, London SE1 9RT, UK.
Eur J Dent Educ. 2001 Aug;5(3):113-9. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0579.2001.050304.x.
Videoconferencing is an established method for providing medical education over long distances. Our aims were to assess the feasibility of videoconferencing in dental postgraduate education, to evaluate its practicability, teacher satisfaction and evaluate equipment. Twenty-seven teachers from the 4 London Dental Schools provided 41 postgraduate dental education sessions on a range of topics to regional postgraduate centres and dental practices as part of the Thames Health Region's programme. Videoconferencing was carried out using a relatively inexpensive personal computer system link using ISDN2 telephone lines and Z350 protocol. Presenter views and assessment were obtained by questionnaire, interview and videotape. Teachers felt that minimal additional preparation time was required for videoconferencing and 21/27 preferred it to in-person teaching, most noting the saving in travel time. Only 3 of the teachers were dissatisfied with their ability to communicate, 4 were equivocal and 20 were either pleased or very pleased. The teachers largely enjoyed the experience and performed well in the new medium. However, sound quality proved inadequate in 5/41 links and most sessions included some periods of suboptimal sound. Only 4 teachers were satisfied with their ability to perform question and answer interaction with the audience. We conclude that experienced teachers adapt readily to videoconferencing and learn to communicate effectively very quickly. Teachers were positive about the medium despite its shortcomings and improvements in sound quality would allow a rapid expansion of postgraduate dental education by videoconference.
视频会议是一种成熟的远程医学教育方式。我们的目的是评估视频会议在牙科研究生教育中的可行性，评估其实用性、教师满意度并对设备进行评估。作为泰晤士河健康区域项目的一部分，来自伦敦4所牙科学院的27名教师为区域研究生中心和牙科诊所提供了41场关于一系列主题的牙科研究生教育课程。视频会议通过使用相对便宜的个人计算机系统，利用ISDN2电话线和Z350协议进行连接。通过问卷调查、访谈和录像获取主讲人的意见和评估。教师们认为视频会议所需的额外准备时间极少，27人中有21人更喜欢视频会议而非面对面教学，大多数人指出节省了出行时间。只有3名教师对自己的沟通能力不满意，4人态度模糊，20人感到满意或非常满意。教师们在很大程度上享受了这种体验，并且在这种新媒介中表现良好。然而，41次连接中有5次的音质被证明不合格，大多数课程都有一段时间声音效果欠佳。只有4名教师对自己与观众进行问答互动的能力感到满意。我们得出结论，经验丰富的教师很容易适应视频会议，并能很快学会有效地进行沟通。尽管存在缺点，但教师们对这种媒介持积极态度，音质的改善将使通过视频会议进行的牙科研究生教育迅速扩大。
