[549] Use of Virtual Microscopy and Online Lecture Recording To Improve Preclinical Teaching

DS McClintock, SD Stern, AN Husain. University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL

Background: Medical students rely on web-based materials to augment their preclinical and clinical courses (Wikipedia, YouTube) in addition to traditional lectures and laboratory sessions. To address student needs for authoritative online materials, a pilot project was initiated to: 1) create a digital database of virtual microscope slides; and 2) record all lectures in the 2nd year pathology course for online review.
Design: Virtual microscopy and lecture recording were implemented over two years (2007-2009). Virtual slides were created using an Aperio slide scanner and then converted for use with the Zoomify Enterprise viewer. Lectures were recorded live with synchronization to PowerPoint slides using Camtasia Studio software and produced as three separate formats (web screencast, iPod video, and mp3 audio). All recordings were posted online within 1-2 days.


Results: Medical students were surveyed at the end of their 2nd year regarding their computing habits, use of virtual microscopy, and review of online lecture recordings.

MS2 Computer Access
Med School ClassOwn a computerOwn a notebook computer
Class of 2008100% (40/40)95% (38/40)
Class of 2009100% (64/64)97% (62/64)
Class of 2010100% (89/89)96% (85/89)





Conclusions: Based on favorable reception of virtual microscopy and online lecture recording among medical students, efforts have been made to fully integrate these tools within all preclinical courses. This year, virtual microscopy is being used as the primary teaching tool in lieu of glass slides and an automated lecture recording system has been realized, with all 1st and 2nd year courses being posted online. These web-based resources have set the foundation for a searchable medical school virtual curriculum to be used during the preclinical and clinical years.
Category: Education

Monday, March 22, 2010 9:30 AM

Poster Session I Stowell-Orbison/Surgical Pathology/Autopsy Awards Poster Session # 77, Monday Morning

 

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