Innovative interactive videodisc units for teaching of pathology laboratory cases. Five years' experience

Seven computer-assisted interactive videodisc instruction units, based on laboratory cases in the General Pathology course for first-year medical students, were developed. Images from the laser videodisc Slice of Life, contributed previously by one of the authors, and the program "Hypercard stack 2.1" were used to develop these units to provide students with interactive software for independent supplemental review of the laboratory cases studied in the course. With the dual-screen system developed, specific picture frames from the videodisc are retrieved on one screen while the other screen displays the corresponding text. The seven units include two units each on cell injury, inflammation, and neoplasia, and one on opportunistic infections. Each unit contains several case studies, each of which consists of the following: a clinical profile, gross pictures and description of the tissue removed, sequential photomicrographs at successively higher magnifications from various fields of tissue slides and their descriptions, comparison with normal histology of the organ involved, interpretation of the observations and comments, final diagnosis, and a quiz. The histopathologic features are specifically emphasized with programmed, computer-generated pointers to indicate specific cells or structures on the images. Each case also contains a glossary to define terms not familiar to first-year students. Although no comparative performance data are available, evaluation of the units obtained from nine terms of use in the last 5 years indicates that these units are extremely valuable supplemental tools for students for independent review of the laboratory cases.