Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Ann Dreher, EdD, MSN, RN.
Mary Ann, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As a professor emeritus of nursing at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, I noticed a significant improvement in my student’s grades when incorporating computer-assisted education with traditional book and lecture education. I was so intrigued by the results that this became the area of research for my Ph.D. It was my goal to find the most successful model to education health care professional in today’s world.
I understood the responsibilities of being a nurse, which came from my 25 years practicing in both acute and long-term care. My original nursing education was obtained at Washington County Hospital School of Nursing in Hagerstown, Maryland. I later obtained a B.S.N. from the University of Illinois in medical-surgical nursing, as well as, an Ed.D. in instructional technology from Northern Illinois University. I knew well the benefits of good education. However, I noticed a void.
I experimented with ways to fill this void which resulted in adding fun interactive tutorials into my classrooms. The results were astonishing; the feedback from my students resonated years afterward.
Many of my prior-students stayed in contact with me and would tell me how they benefited not only as a student but also as a practicing nurse. In 2001, I founded Educational Global Technologies (EDGT) as an online nursing education platform. My mission was to improve the quality of education to healthcare professionals with the processes I had developed and used as a teacher of nursing. Since our beginnings, over 500,000 students have benefited from using our tutorials and tests.
Has it been a smooth road?
It was very challenging to be a pioneer in this industry. I was creating the road map from scratch and had only my research and self-experimentation. I figured I had lots of time but did not realize the full burden of the investment. Especially in moving our platform from a desktop application to an online version. But it was worth the investment. The reward was helping students all over the US in mastering challenging material during their nursing studies. We were one of the pioneers of this industry and as such, one of the first online education institutions. The cost of developing the website was daunting, but with the help of an amazing team of talented individuals (authors, programmers, graphic artists, etc.), we put together an online version which has worked wonderfully for students and instructors alike.
Competition in the last decade has increased as the convenience of online education appeals to many individuals. Keeping up with the fast-paced evolution of this industry is tricky as well. Advances in medicine and technology bring to the forefront a constant need to adapt the education to keep pace with the quality and professionalism needed. Historically computer-assisted education was a stranger to this industry, but now it is considered a requirement. We are proud to be one of the founders of this process.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Since our beginning, we have evolved our mission to providing testing, tutorials, education, and information about the continuously changing nursing field. A better-educated student makes a better practicing nurse.
Nurses provide the majority of healthcare throughout the world. The students who began with us in late 1990’s are now the administrators, teachers, and head nurses in many of the hospitals, schools, clinics, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities. Many of them continuing their relationship with our company by using our products, as well as, contribute to the advancement of new products and services.
Today, we have over 26,000 active students and over 155 Nursing schools using our products. Since 2001 to 2017 over 1 million nurses have passed through our program.
The majority of our students exist in the United States; however, 43 counties use our product. The majority of our students (55%) are between the ages of 18-24 which 76% of them being female. We realize this means that we are still shaping the face of this industry in the years to come. Although all our material is in English, we have considered producing multilingual products to reach markets we have not contributed.
We believe that users should be able to learn and practice at their leisure at home, school, or in their work environments. We also believe that educators need to be able to track their own students’ progress and should have easy, immediate access to their students’ online activities and test results.
EDGT’s website was produced to provide the learner with flexible, accessible, and enjoyable learning experiences. Its tutorials are highly interactive and fun. Practice items are generously interspersed and serve as learning checks. Practice activities, some in the form of games, link theory to general practice. Tests are included to help users and instructors monitor the learning process. The website operates seamlessly, so we can devote our time making sure our content is up to date and relevant.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Of course! Chicago is a great place for any business. In my case though, since we are an online business, we could really operate anywhere.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.edgt.com
- Phone: 888-882-9800
- Email: mary@edgt.com
Image Credit:
Joe Ninni
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