Case Study: books in the VitalBook^TM format in Dental Education

For over five years, American dental students have received their curriculum materials - including all their textbooks – on their computers through a remarkable digital publishing platform: the VitalSource^TM Bookshelf. Bookshelf integrates publisher and school materials and makes them portable, searchable, and interactive.

Now, for one-in-four American dental students, the best possible resources are just a click away in their VitalSource^TM Bookshelf.

More effective resources

For students and faculty at the nation’s largest Dental school, for example, the VitalSource^TM Bookshelf is helping them get what they need the moment they need it.

Textbooks from all the major dental publishers
Course packs
Lecture slides
Assessments
Much more

Why it works

Each school determines what resources are delivered, based on their own curriculum needs and teaching methods. No two schools’ deliveries are ever the same.

And for students, the resources never expire, promoting life-long learning and giving students a practical, comprehensive library to take with them into residency and practice.

Cost-effective digital resource development

Schools choose and organize their resources, and students are able to carry all four years of their course materials with them at all times. Combined with the teaching and learning tools in the VitalSource^TM Bookshelf software, it is the most powerful resource currently offered in health science education.

In an recent article in the Journal of Dental, researchers from several dental schools looked into the effectiveness of student laptop programs in general, and VitalBook^TM aspects in particular:

J Dent Educ. 70(5): 480-499 2006