DTUK1110

April 26-May 2, 20108 mSc Blog United Kingdom Edition www.dentsplymaillefer.com Filling was never so easy! • Obturation device for downpack and backfill Device designed for your comfort • Ergonomically designed handpieces with large operation angle and feather-touch activation by flexible silicone ring Lateral or vertical obturation? Better results with Calamus® • Vertical condensation is a faster method to achieve a long-lasting, tightly sealed, three dimensional root canal filling • Reliable obturation of lateral canals as well as minimal risk of root fractures TIME-SAVING AND LONG-LASTING 3D OBTURATION OF ROOT CANALS FAST AND TIGHTLY SEALED ROOT CANAL FILLINGS DOWNPACK & BACKFILL Projet4_Mise en page 1 23.03.10 11:52 Page2 B elieve it or not, three months on and I am still enjoying the study- ing! The format of the course is that lectures can be viewed live with a live webcam of the lecturer and the opport- unity to type in the ‘chat’ box questions either during the lectures or at breaks. I have only attended a few lectures live – mostly due to conflicts of schedule. The lectures are posted on the web a few days later to be viewed at our leisure. They can then be paused at any point to give you time to write notes or copy down a slide – there is a running time on the footnote which allows you to note down where you are in a presentation if you are interrupted and have to re- start later. The perfect solution for distance learning amidst a hectic lifestyle. So, inspired by the loom- ing date for handing in my first assessments, I have been on a crash course of catch-up. So far, we’re in Unit 1 – we’ve covered Anatomy, Basic dise- ase processes, Diagnostics in perio, endo and caries detec- tion, foundations of occlu- sion and foundations of ma- terial science. We have had a variety of lecturers from Man- chester and beyond – includ- ing Peter Galgut on perio, Prof Nigel Pitts from Dundee on caries and Prof David Watts from the University of Man- chester on dental mate- rials. Each webinar is accom- panied by critical reading which for the most part can be acce-ssed very easily using the University of Manchester li- brary. The library remote access is really slick, and I have been able to create a VPN link (which means virtual private network) so that I can download and print articles. The technical help- desk assistance has been outst-anding although my bill for printer ink has more than trebled! At this point, I am (still!) a few lectures behind but I have spent an enormous amount of time in the last few weeks catching up on read- ing and lectures. It is ama- zing how many hours can whizz by when you are sat at a computer with headphones on and a notebook & pen by your side – even 10-minute bursts between patients, or whilst the tea is cooking or even after the kids are in bed. ‘Mummy’s doing her home- work’ is becoming a familiar tune in our house. Part of the final mark for the course is made up from contin- uous feedback from each webi- nar – and there are self-assess- ment quizzes to take on-line to assess your understanding. The Msc website keeps a log of all your completed and incomplet- ed tasks, so there is a certain satisfaction to completing read- ing, the webinar, the feedback and the self-assessments – four items ticked off the list! My only complaint is that some of the self-assessments aren’t work- ing, which is frustrating but due to a technical glitch. Still – I have five questions to answer in only 200 words each for 20 marks before next week. I’ve worked out that’s 10 words per mark – not much room for waffling on then...... better get to it! DT The perfect learning solution Dental Tribune catches up with online mSc student Elaine Halley About the author Elaine Halley BDS DGDP (UK) is the BACD Immediate Past Presi- dent and the principal of Cherrybank Dental Spa, a private practice in Perth. She is an active member of the AACD and her main interest is cosmetic and advanced restorative dentistry and she has studied extensively in the United States, Europe and the UK.