Table of Contents  
COMMENTARY
Year : 2012  |  Volume : 5  |  Issue : 1  |  Page : 22  

Animations in medical education


Department of Anatomy Medical E Learning, St. Johns E Learning Initiative, St. John's Medical College, Bangalore - 560034, Karnataka, India

Date of Web Publication20-Jun-2012

Correspondence Address:
Vaidyanathan Balasubramanyam
Professor, Bangalore Chapter of Indian Association of Medical Informatics, Bangalore - 560034, Karnataka
India
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Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


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How to cite this article:
Balasubramanyam V. Animations in medical education. Med J DY Patil Univ 2012;5:22

How to cite this URL:
Balasubramanyam V. Animations in medical education. Med J DY Patil Univ [serial online] 2012 [cited 2024 Mar 29];5:22. Available from: https://journals.lww.com/mjdy/pages/default.aspx/text.asp?2012/5/1/22/97503

The use of computers as an effective teaching aid is well-documented. [1],[2] PowerPoint has been the most popular digital audio-visual aid for medical teachers in recent years primarily due to its ease of use. While it is commonly used for text, pictures and videos, the use of PowerPoint for animation, is by and large an unexplored territory in medical education. [3] With its entry-level features, PowerPoint can be an excellent platform for beginners to design educational modules. It is useful for flowcharting - a technique that can be used to teach topics that are process-based or event-based. Its limitation is that the movements are not smooth. For more seamless animations in 2D, use of FLASH is recommended. [4] Simple line animations are best shown in FLASH. We have used 3D animations in difficult areas where it is critically required. For example, we are convinced about its absolute relevance when we need to teach special interrelationships between structures where movement is inevitable. For instance, in depicting the movements of the heart valves, lung expansion, diaphragmatic movements in breathing and other cases it can be very illustrative. Interactive computer graphics coupled with animations can be exploited for designing virtual reality models. [5],[6] These are digital versions of problem-based learning - several clinical scenarios can be built and students can be made to apply their knowledge to navigate through the clinical case and find both diagnosis as well as treatment. This is similar to pilots in the airline industry being trained in simulators before letting them operate an actual aircraft. These digital learning environments create immense learning platforms for students to sharpen their diagnostic and analytical skills. It is likely that these will find increasing utility among students in the years to come.

 
  References Top

1.Greenhalgh T. Computer assisted learning in undergraduate medical education. BMJ 2001;322:40-4.  Back to cited text no. 1
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2.Piemme TE. Computer assisted learning and evaluation in medicine. JAMA 1998;260:368-72.  Back to cited text no. 2
    
3.Balasubramanyam V, Thomas IM. Computer graphics - applications in anatomy. Trends in Medical Education 1995:2:25-6.  Back to cited text no. 3
    
4.Habbal OA, Harris PF. Teaching of human anatomy: A role for computer animation. J Audiov Media Med 1995;18:69-73.  Back to cited text no. 4
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5.Lehmann HP, Lehmann CU, Freedman JA. The use of simulations in computer -aided learning over the World Wide Web. JAMA 1997;278:1788.  Back to cited text no. 5
[PUBMED]  [FULLTEXT]  
6.Hoffman H, Vu D. Virtual reality: Teaching tool of the twenty first century? Acad Med 1997;72:1076-81.  Back to cited text no. 6
    




 

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