Innovation in Education
The University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine (CU SDM) is pleased to be recognized as an Apple Distinguished School for 2021-2024 for continuous innovation in learning, teaching, and the school environment.
Our Story: Elevating Dental Medicine
The only dental school in the Rocky Mountain region, the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine is a leader in innovation. The school has five incredible dental programs, including three residencies and nine clinics on the Anschutz Medical Campus. Students learn in all dimensions, from virtual reality to the real world. The school provides inter-professional experience, research activities, and patient care. Patients can get quality care from our esteemed faculty, staff, and students.
Vision
Digital Education at the CU SDM blends sustainable, best-practice use of existing tools and workflows while bringing in the latest innovative technology to amplify education from all sides. Supported by our leadership team, Apple products are a significant element of our learning culture to meet all of our students and faculty where they are and beyond.
CU SDM is integrating augmented and virtual reality simulations into workshops, courses and curriculum. This positively shifts the paradigm of how we educate, collaborate, and build organic learning communities that thrive despite the changing logistics of today's world.
Learning
Technology is a cornerstone of teaching and learning at CU SDM. Our digital education focus remains on learning communities and collaborative educational environments.
We are focused on one-to-one programs of MacBook and iPad Pros for faculty and students and teaching apps connecting within video calls for teaching and learning. Both objectives allow for personal flexibility.
Success
Our emphasis remains on how to provide students the best learning environments and tools. This includes dental medicine knowledge and practices for dealing with various patients, technologies, and real-life scenarios.
Success is communicated in a variety of ways, including our quarterly "SDM Faculty Genius Hour," which gives members of our faculty 60 minutes to share with our entire school the exciting things being done with digital technology in various departments.
From the technology side, CU SDM is putting a significant emphasis on simulation technology. We are currently integrating one-to-one augmented reality experiences being built within the Apple Reality Composer framework. The seamless link of this emerging, game-changing technology allows for students to interact with detailed 3D models. This technology has also been vital in supporting an avatar program being built to educate the soft skills of working with patients and training diversity, equity, and inclusion.
