Veterinary Students and Faculty Partner in Developing a Virtual Three-Dimensional (3D) Interactive Touch Screen...

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Educational Technology
• Anatomy Education

Background:

• Universities must adapt educational technology to improve teaching and learning.
• Advancements in virtual interactive 3D anatomy tools offer new pedagogical approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the improvement of a virtual interactive 3D canine anatomy table (APEX) by veterinary students.
• To evaluate the accuracy and perceptions of APEX as an educational tool for veterinary anatomy.

Main Methods:

• Eight veterinary students identified and characterized 306 anatomical structures on the APEX prototype over six months.
• Descriptive statistics analyzed student accuracy and perceptions of the APEX tool.
• Faculty perceptions of the APEX table were surveyed before and after student improvements.

Main Results:

• Students achieved an overall accuracy rating of 3.73 out of 4.
• Students reported the APEX tool as enjoyable (median 4/5) and beneficial to their anatomy knowledge (median 4/5).
• Faculty agreement with APEX utilization in curriculum increased significantly from a mean of 2.0 to 3.9 (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Veterinary students can effectively contribute to the critical assessment and development of anatomical educational tools.
• Both students and faculty demonstrated acceptance and positive reception of technology in veterinary anatomy education.
• The enhanced APEX tool shows significant potential for improving veterinary anatomy teaching and learning.