CODERS is an example of how LMS Learning Management Systems (Moodle Platform) can be used for remote or online undergraduate and continuing education in Dentistry.

Because of the pandemic, online remote learning has now become an essential component of education in the Philippines. Teaching and Learning Undergraduate Dentistry has definitely become a great challenge due to lack of “face-to-face” classroom and laboratory activities.

But even before the pandemic, blended types of learning strategies have already been implemented by some educational institutions. A “blended” type of learning employs a combination of online educational materials and activities that involve online interaction between learners and facilitators with the traditional classroom methods.

The preclinical Complete Denture Prosthodontics course of the University of the Philippines College of Dentistry (CODERS, CN Atienza DDM) has employed this type of teaching and learning strategies since 2007 with the aim of enhancing each student’s learning and training experience. The use of online resources such as videos, photos, learning modules, online quizzes and databases have helped prepare the students prior to their scheduled traditional classroom sessions.

Sample Screenshots

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Since all resources in this repository are made readily accessible to students, they are able to frequently visit and make use of all these resources anytime they need to. They are no longer dependent solely on synchronous or live classroom lectures and laboratory demonstrations which they are normally only able to watch, and participate in, once. In an asynchronous environment, they can always go back to the video recordings of lectures and laboratory demonstrations as often as they want as long as the course allows it. Handouts in PDF format can readily be downloaded. Online quizzes and exercises can be accomplished asynchronously. Communication between the faculty and students are also much more accessible through the messaging component of the system. A progress monitoring component was also added to check the work pace and accomplishment of activities of individual students and also to monitor the progress of the entire class as a whole.

Back in 2007, technology was obviously very much limited compared to how it is nowadays. Internet connection was not available to all students. Desktop computers, Laptops and hand-held smart devices were not all readily available either. These challenges definitely limited the potential use of the system during those years. But as these technologies became more and more readily available, students are also able to maximize the use of these systems.

Because of the current pandemic situation, Online Learning Management Systems have now become truly indispensable. Many more platforms aside from the Free and Open Source Moodle LMS are now available and being used by many such as: Google Classroom, CANVAS, Open edX, Blackboard and about more than 1000 others. These systems are now readily being accessed using conventional or standard computers or even just smart mobile phones as long as there is adequate internet connection. With the quick-paced developments and progress in information and communications technology, the potential for these systems may seem limitless.

CN ATIENZA DDM