The ITI Campus allows universities to set up a private virtual space populated with classrooms for their students who then have free access to ITI Academy content selected by their local Classroom Administrator. We spoke to Drs. Will Martin and Luiz Gonzaga at the University of Florida in Gainesville and asked them how their students benefit from the ITI Campus.
What are the advantages of an ITI Campus for students?
Students gain access free of charge to the ITI Academy, the most scientific and comprehensive implant dentistry e-learning offering available. The ITI Campus has customized access (determined by the Classroom Administrator) to this learning platform that contains material for all knowledge levels in implant dentistry (lectures, learning modules, assessments, clinical treatment recommendations to name a few). With over 750 learning items and over 250 content authors, administrators should have no problem customizing the ITI Campus to the specific learning needs of their students.
How does setting up an ITI University Campus work?
The applicant (faculty member at a university with full-time undergraduate and postgraduate programs) submits an application, to be ordered from [email protected], that needs to be approved by the Chair of the ITI Education Committee and the local Section Leadership Team in countries with an ITI Section. Upon approval of the ITI Campus, the University needs to sign a License and Usage Agreement and designate at least one local Campus Administrator to be onboarded by ITI Headquarters.
What are the requirements?
Application from a dental school with full-time undergraduate (DMD or equivalent) and postgraduate programs leading to a specialization in the field of dentistry. Submitted by a faculty member (no ITI affiliation or membership required) equipped to take on the responsibility of organizing and administrating the ITI Campus for the students and residents.
Is your Campus in Gainesville running successfully?
Our campus has been active since its initial offering by the ITI. We started with three classrooms:
- Post-graduate implant curriculum (residents in: Oral Surgery, Prosthodontics, Periodontics, VA GPR and select faculty and students)
- 46-54 participants
- Average >3,100 page views (<2019), the 2020 numbers are lower but the course only just started
- Broad curriculum in classroom, lectures, learning modules, assessments
2) Post-graduate photography curriculum
- 25-30 participants per year
- Average >700 page views
- Very specific classroom with content only in photography
3) Undergraduate elective in digital implant dentistry
- 14-17 participants per year
- Average >90 page views
- Very specific classroom with content limited to digital technology
This past year we added our undergraduate implant curriculum:
4) Undergraduate implant curriculum
- 94 participants
- Average >20 page views
This curriculum was just launched and the students are not fully aware of the ITI Classroom’s offerings for education, efforts by faculty will need to be made to direct them to the learning opportunities.
What do you do to enthuse students?
Not all students are the same, some only need to be introduced and registered to the classroom and others need to be “encouraged” by assigning learning modules and assessments. Prior to the beginning of our scheduled lectures we often will refer to summaries of the ITI Classroom access or assessment numbers or offer announcements to updated content in the classroom to keep it at the forefront of their mind.
Of important note, we use our ITI Classrooms as a supplement to the main curriculum, so it is often utilized by students pursuing advanced education in the area of implant dentistry.
What kind of feedback have you had?
The vast majority of students appreciate the amount and quality of content offered. Most often we hear from them that “I need to go there more often” or “I keep meaning to log in”. It is possible that some are overwhelmed by the quantity of content in the classroom, so we recommend keeping it minimized and focused on the topic at hand.
Could you share some best practices from your daily work with the University Campus?
- Initially, invest your (Administrator) time in learning about everything available in the ITI Academy to better prepare yourself for building your classroom
- Keep it simple when building your classroom, do not overwhelm participants with content
- After the participants are registered, encourage logging in by referencing content during lectures or assigning modules and assessments for extra credit
- As an administrator, keep content in the classroom up to date
