Brown Katelyn E, Heise Natascha, Eitel Chad M, Nelson Jordan, Garbe Brendan A, Meyer Carolyn A, Ivie Kenneth R, Clapp Tod R
Fort Collins, CO USA Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University.
Norfolk, VA USA Department of Pathology and Anatomy, Eastern Virginia Medical School.
Med Sci Educ. 2023 Feb 16;33(2):409-421. doi: 10.1007/s40670-023-01751-w. eCollection 2023 Apr.
The arrival of COVID-19 restrictions and the increasing demand of online instruction options posed challenges to education communities worldwide, especially in human anatomy. In response, Colorado State University developed and deployed an 8-week-long large-scale virtual reality (VR) course to supplement online human anatomy instruction. Students ( = 75) received a VR-capable laptop and head-mounted display and participated in weekly synchronous group laboratory sessions with instructors. The software enabled students to remotely collaborate in a common virtual space to work with human anatomy using an artist-rendered cadaver. Qualitative data were collected on student engagement, confidence, and reactions to the new technology. Quantitative data assessed student knowledge acquisition and retention of anatomical spatial relationships. Results indicated that students performed better in the online course (mean = 82.27%) when compared to previous in-person laboratories (mean = 80.08%). The utilization of VR promoted student engagement and increased opportunities for student interaction with teaching assistants, peers, and course content. Notably, students reported benefits that focused on unique aspects of their virtual learning environment, including the ability to infinitely scale the cadaver and walk inside and around anatomical structures. Results suggested that using VR was equivalent to 2D methods in student learning and retention of anatomical relationships. Overall, the virtual classroom maintained the rigor of traditional gross anatomy laboratories without negatively impacting student examination scores and provided a high level of accessibility, without compromising learner engagement.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-023-01751-w.
新冠疫情防控措施的实施以及在线教学选项需求的增加给全球教育界带来了挑战，尤其是在人体解剖学领域。作为回应，科罗拉多州立大学开发并部署了一门为期8周的大规模虚拟现实（VR）课程，以补充在线人体解剖学教学。75名学生获得了一台具备VR功能的笔记本电脑和头戴式显示器，并与教师一起参加每周的同步小组实验室课程。该软件使学生能够在一个共同的虚拟空间中远程协作，使用艺术家渲染的尸体进行人体解剖学习。收集了关于学生参与度、信心以及对新技术反应的定性数据。定量数据评估了学生对解剖学空间关系的知识获取和记忆情况。结果表明，与之前的面对面实验室（平均成绩 = 80.08%）相比，学生在在线课程中的表现更好（平均成绩 = 82.27%）。VR的使用提高了学生的参与度，并增加了学生与助教、同学及课程内容互动的机会。值得注意的是，学生报告了专注于其虚拟学习环境独特方面的益处，包括能够无限缩放尸体以及在解剖结构内部和周围行走。结果表明，在学生学习和记忆解剖学关系方面，使用VR与二维方法相当。总体而言，虚拟课堂保持了传统大体解剖实验室的严谨性，且没有对学生考试成绩产生负面影响，并提供了高度的可及性，同时不影响学习者的参与度。
在线版本包含可在10.1007/s40670-023-01751-w获取的补充材料。
