Learning Center

The LSUSD Learning Center is comprised of three sections: Technology Services, Educational Services, and Statistical Services.

LSUSD Computer Services (LSUSD CS) maintains and supports all of the computer-related functions of the School of Dentistry. The LSUSD Local Area Network is connected to the LSU Health Sciences Center network and is maintained by LSUHSC Enterprise Computer Services. The LSUSD CS supports all faculty, staff, and student workstations, required student laptops, e-mail accounts, and the general access computers in the dental library computer lab. LSUSD CS operates a help desk line from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Enterprise Computer Services provides limited after-hours phone support. The Library Computer Lab, with ten workstations and a scanner, is available for student use and is open all hours that the dental school library is open. LSUSD Computer Services provides students with a computer orientation and provides all students, faculty, and staff with links to online tutorials for supported software.

Educational services offered to faculty and staff include printing, website maintenance, audiovisual support, assistance with course management, and various library services.

Course management support includes survey design, test construction and scoring, and course evaluation. Assistance with Moodle, the online course management system, is provided by Computer Services. Support for faculty and student users of VitalSource, the digital textbook library, is available from the Dental Library and Computer Services.

The School of Dentistry Library, a branch of the LSUHSC Libraries, houses the only complete collection of dental literature in Louisiana. Located on the 3rd floor of the Dental School’s Administration Building, the collection and services are open to members of the dental profession as well as students, staff, and faculty.  Limited services are available to the public at large.  An integrated library system provides access to print and electronic library holdings, and most journal articles are available electronically. Numerous databases and other resources-including MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Lexi-Comp are available to dental faculty, students, and staff. Remote access to electronic journals, books, and databases requires registration as a library patron as well as a library barcode. When the Dental School opened in 1968, it purchased the collection of the Loyola School of Dentistry Library; thus, the Dental Library holds historical dental publications as well as the current dental literature.

Dental library faculty members offer instruction in library services, search techniques, scientific writing, and information literacy. Services include searches and literature reviews, interlibrary loan, distance education assistance, proofreading and editing, and research poster printing. Library facilities include photocopiers, computers, popular magazines, and displays of historical dental equipment and books. A wireless network, small group study rooms, and comfortable seating offer opportunities for individual and group study. The Dental School computer laboratory, located in the library, provides networked computers, a printer, and scanner for all students, faculty, and staff.

The Audiovisual Section of LSUSD CS operates and maintains the AV equipment throughout the school. This section oversees scheduling and operation of the three compressed video distance-learning rooms (one at LSUSD, one in Lafayette, and one in Baton Rouge). This section is also responsible for the telecommunications system for the school and manages meeting room and lecture hall scheduling.

Statistical services, provided by the LSUSD Biostatistical Core in conjunction with the School of Public Health EpiData Center, include test scoring, survey design, and statistical consultation. The Biostatistical Core provides assistance with study design, sample size estimation, the statistical analysis plan, and research proposals. Core resources are also available to post-graduate dental residents performingresearch as part of their graduate educational requirements.