The development of interactive online learning tools for the study of Anatomy

Figures & data

Table

Practice points
•Undergraduate students studying anatomy are presented with large amounts of structural information that they must assimilate within a fairly short period of time.
•Interactive learning exercises developed in Adobe Flash MX™ provide opportunities for students to pursue self-directed learning outside the laboratory. The images developed for these exercises can be manipulated by the student to enhance visualization of three-dimensional anatomy and have value for kinesthetic, visual and read/write learners.
•The content (level of detail) in these exercises can be modified to meet the specific learning objectives of various health science programs.
•Interactive self-testing exercises allow students to practice applying new knowledge and to obtain valuable feedback on their progress in learning before summative examinations.
•The delivery of learning and self-testing tools online is cost-efficient, allows repeated practice at each student's convenience and addresses learning challenges associated with large class sizes.

Figure 1. Matching (a) textbook (From Marieb EN: Human Anatomy & Physiology, San Francisco, 2001, Benjamin Cummings, used by permission of Pearson Education, Inc.) and (b) cadaver roll-over images of the location of the heart in the mediastinum of the thorax showing the aorta. A comparison of (a) and (b) shows that the ‘empty spaces’ that are frequently included between structures for clarity in textbook drawings do not actually exist in the body and that structures are often less perfect in shape when seen in situ.

Figure 2. Cadaver image dissected to reveal the major abdominal arteries. (a) Roll-over highlight of abdominal aorta. (b) Roll-over highlight with the abdominal aorta still emphasized but now adding in two branches, the common iliac arteries.

Figure 3. Corresponding (a) textbook (From Marieb EN: Human Anatomy & Physiology, San Francisco, 2001, Benjamin Cummings, used by permission of Pearson Education, Inc.) and (b) cadaver roll-over images of the right upper limb and thorax highlighted to allow the arterial pathway of blood flow to the wrist to be followed.

Figure 4. Rotating roll-over image of the skull with the sphenoid bone highlighted so that it can be followed as the skull is manipulated to be viewed at (a) 0°, (b) 45°, and (c) 90° of rotation. (d) The grouping function has been activated to allow all of the facial bones to be viewed simultaneously at 45° of rotation.

Figure 5. Fade-through textbook (From Marieb EN: Human Anatomy & Physiology, San Francisco, 2001, Benjamin Cummings, used by permission of Pearson Education, Inc.) image of the heart with a sliding bar allowing the transparency of the more superficial of the image components to be adjusted between 0 and 100%.

Figure 6. Reusable learning applets. (a) Partially completed drag-and-drop image of the heart. (b) Self-testing image of the upper respiratory tract in which the epiglottis has been highlighted and its corresponding label correctly entered. (reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc.).

Table 1.  Comparison of class distribution of final grades for students who had access to online learning tools (LT Group) or did not have access to these tools (No-LT Group) throughout the academic term.*

Letter grade	LT group	No-LT group
A (80–100%)	22.6	20.7
B (70–79%)	28.0	28.2
C (60–69%)	31.6	35.3
D (50–59%)	11.6	12.7
E or F** (below 50%)	6.2	2.9
	n = 275	n = 241

Notes: *Data are expressed as a percent of the total student enrolment for that class. **A letter grade of E or F is a failure.