Building a learning community on-line: the first step towards a national virtual learning environment in orthodontics.

Virtual learning environments (VLEs) are attractive solutions for the delivery of education on-line. Orthodontic education online has the potential to alleviate some of the problems caused by increasing demands on academic staff, the impact of the European work time directives and changes in junior doctors' hours. All act to constrain the effective training of orthodontic postgraduates. The design of a VLE is driven by modern concepts in learning and teaching, the structure, content and assessment methods will help determine the range of behaviours any programme hopes to encourage. This paper aims to provide information on how a modular specialist-training programme in the United Kingdom has been developed and enhanced by a VLE.