Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Zoom in on learning with a virtual microscope: A convergent parallel mixed-method study.

Ava K Chow¹, Nazlee Sharmin¹

¹Mike Petryk School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta,Edmonton, Canada.

|May 7, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

Overview of Microscopy Techniques

Overview of Microscopy Techniques

The early pioneers of microscopy opened a window into the invisible world of microorganisms. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created an essentially modern light microscope. The 20th century saw the development of microscopes that leveraged nonvisible light, such as fluorescence microscopy that uses an ultraviolet light source and electron microscopy that uses short-wavelength electron beams. These advances significantly improved magnification, image resolution, and contrast. By comparison, the...

Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy

Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy

Optical microscopy uses optic principles to provide detailed images of samples. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek designed the first compound optical microscope in the 17th century to visualize blood cells, bacteria, and yeast cells. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created an essentially modern light microscope. The 20th century saw the development of microscopes with enhanced magnification and resolution.
In optical microscopy, the specimen to be viewed is placed on a glass slide and clipped on the stage...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

<i>Save Our School</i>: an educational game made with Gimkit Creative.

Canadian medical education journal·2026

Same author

Featuring the application of biochemistry in dental practice through a self-directed assignment: A descriptive study.

PloS one·2026

Same author

Quiz Game Show With PowerPoint and Zoom: Revitalizing a Classical Tool for Modern Learners.

Journal of dental education·2026

Same author

Games as homework to promote student engagement in an asynchronous online course.

Canadian journal of dental hygiene : CJDH = Journal canadien de l'hygiene dentaire : JCHD·2026

Same author

Early Clinical Experiences for Dental Students Using Near Peer Assisted Learning (NPAL).

European journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe·2026

Same author

Incorporation of a Cellphone App to Improve Students' Learning Experiences.

Journal of dental education·2025

Same journal

Analysis of strength degradation of coal and rock masses and stability of mined areas under long term immersion environment.

PloS one·2026

Same journal

Biogenic Silver-Selenium nanocomposite with anticancer activity and potent efficacy against vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

PloS one·2026

Same journal

Preparation and physicochemical characterization of a biodegradable chitosan/carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogel synthesized in NaOH/urea medium.

PloS one·2026

Same journal

Action-guilt, survivor-guilt, and depression in combat-related PTSD.

PloS one·2026

Same journal

Explainable machine learning for predicting activities of daily living at discharge in stroke patients: A retrospective study using SHAP interpretability.

PloS one·2026

Same journal

Deep learning based two-way feature depiction model for brain tumor detection.

PloS one·2026

See all related articles

Virtual microscopes (VMs) effectively enhance dental students' understanding of magnification and orientation in histology. This study found that VMs improved spatial reasoning and learning, despite concerns about reduced hands-on experience.

Area of Science:

Histology Education
Medical Simulation
Dental School Curriculum

Background:

Histology knowledge is crucial for health professions.
Virtual Microscopes (VMs) are cost-effective histology teaching tools.
Educators express concern about the lack of hands-on experience with traditional microscopes when using VMs.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess dental students' understanding of magnification and orientation using a virtual microscope.
To investigate the impact of VMs on spatial reasoning in oral histology.
To address the scarcity of research on VM effects on magnification and orientation perception.

Main Methods:

Convergent, parallel mixed-method study design.
1st-year Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) students participated in 6-hour lab sessions.

Related Experiment Videos

Quantitative performance data and qualitative reflective responses were analyzed.

Main Results:

Most students accurately answered magnification and orientation questions.
97% of students reported improved understanding of magnification and orientation.
Qualitative analysis revealed "refinement of mental models" and "enhanced learning" from VM use.

Conclusions:

Virtual microscopes can significantly improve dental students' grasp of magnification and orientation in histology.
VMs support the development of mental models and enhance the learning process.
Further research is needed, but findings suggest VMs are valuable tools for histology education.