Page 164 - Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century

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Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century | Showcasing UJ Teaching and Learning 2021
The students are transported into a virtual platform
that enables them to interact with a virtual human body, including a built-in virtual 3D library of anatomical models, the musculoskeletal system and organ-based systems.
This innovative VR tool has reinvented teaching anatomy and dramatically assists students in understanding and visualising anatomical spatial relations within the human body, especially in those complex areas that are difficult to observe and dissect using traditional dissection techniques. Furthermore, Moila et al. (2021) reported that through engagements with VR tools students were able to retain more content and gain more practical skills.
It is widely known that practical learning tools have to
be robust and flexible enough to accommodate our students’ diversity, especially the different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds from which they come. The different quintile schools that feed into the undergraduate (UG) programmes speaks to the possible discrepancy in technology availability at the secondary school level, and this needs to be mitigated at UJ so that all the students can utilise resources in equity. According to the literature, ‘VR encourages students’ participation in the classroom, eliminates language barriers, promotes learning flexibility, cultural diversity and student socialization’ (Solomon et al. 2018). The authors further elaborated that VR increases the students’ ability to retain information (Solomon et
al. 2018). Furthermore, Moila et al. (2021) elaborated
that VR increases the motivation of students, enhances communication between student and academic, improves understanding of abstract theories and accommodates more individual learning needs. The Oculus Quest 2 with the 3D Organon application software enables students to study organs/regions or sections of the human body at their own pace and from any perspective. The students can rotate and walk within the human body, interact with its components and look at multiple views at the same time. All virtual specimens are fully annotated with supporting anatomical text, so students can understand what they are looking at and how structures relate to each other. This latter aspect
is fundamental in understanding and retaining knowledge of anatomy. This provides a platform to enable students
to learn the ‘language of anatomy’ and its applications, especially for students from diverse backgrounds. The use of VR can enhance medical education by standardising training and providing students with multiple opportunities to repeat tasks until competencies are achieved (Reznek et al. 2002).
It is widely known that practical learning tools have to be robust and flexible enough
to accommodate
our students’ diversity, especially the different socio- economic and cultural backgrounds from which they come.
Furthermore, this multi-disciplinary application has a diverse range of built-in clinical material and animations on anatomical movement that may be very useful for students and academics of the clinical domains, as students are further enabled to understand how the anatomy relates
to clinical cases that they may encounter in their related professional disciplines. Students can virtually investigate and manipulate anatomical models, identify potential complications and develop a ‘clinical plan’ to ensure the best clinical outcomes. This will equip students with critical thinking, analytical and application skills, which will be advantageous for future medical students.
Built-in quizzes for class tutorials and activities will allow students to evaluate their understanding of a particular region or section that is being covered, thus enhancing the students’ skills development. Furthermore, VR provides students with a golden opportunity to increase student satisfaction by improve their assessment marks (Ferrer- Torregrosa et al. 2016).
Thus far, with funding received from the UJ Teaching Innovation Fund, we were able to purchase three Oculus Quest 2 VR units and are currently procuring the 3D Organon software. We aim to have this project up and running by the end of May 2022, piloting it with a small group of students. Future additional funding is being applied for for the purchase of more VR units so that more HAP students will be able to explore the human body virtually.