Virtual Anatomy's 3-D Skeletal System

Curriculum Integration

Curriculum Integration Guide

Virtual Anatomy's 3-D Skeletal System was designed as a multipurpose teaching and learning tool. It is not just the most complete reference tool on the human skeleton, but an effective teaching device for professors and learning station for students. This guide illustrates some of the effective ways it is being used in lecture and laboratory instruction. We invite you to submit to us the ways you are using it to improve skeletal instruction or learning in your anatomy program.

Classroom/Lecture Hall
In the lecture hall filled with hundreds of students it is now possible, for the first time, to effectively teach students about the skeleton. Prior to the Virtual Anatomy's 3-D Skeleton it was not possible to teach students about individual bones and their various landmarks because no one beyond the first row was able to see what the professor was demonstrating on the bones. Photographic slides of the bones could be projected, but this did not allow students to appreciate the three-dimensional nature of the bones. Video tapes could be made and projected, but this limits the teaching as you have to follow the video tape and you lose flexibility in your lecture. With Virtual Anatomy's 3-D Skeleton projected onto a large screen in front of the lecture hall the professor can manipulate any bone into the desired view to show any feature of the bone and discuss it with the students.

Recently at a major university the osteology of the skull was effectively taught to a class of 75 students. 25 human skulls were brought to the lecture hall and three students were paired to a skull. "Using Virtual Anatomy's 3-D Skeleton I was able to effectively teach them about the entire skull as well as all the individual bones that comprise this complex structure. I have never been able to demonstrate any feature of the skull as clearly to a large or even small group of students as I was able to with the use of Virtual Anatomy's 3-D Skeleton. It was the first time I was able to point out small detailed aspects of skull anatomy without having to walk around and show things to single individuals. It was very economic timewise and students saw things more clearly than ever before. We have also used it with the same effectiveness in smaller groups in the lab with a large computer monitor. While the lab environment allows us to use real bones with smaller groups of students, Virtual Anatomy's 3-D Skeleton is still really useful especially when demonstrating skull anatomy to students."

Laboratory/Library
Not only is it an effective teaching device, but it is also a valuable learning tool for the students. In a large anatomy class with hundreds of students laboratory time is a limited commodity for each individual student. The supply of real and or plastic bones in the lab is also limited. When students do not have access to the lab it is difficult for them to study the bones, except from pictures. This is a limiting study method because a picture is not three-dimensional. With Virtual Anatomy's 3-D Skeleton the student can manipulate any bone, as well as the entire skeleton, in three-dimensional space. And not only that but all the textual information about those bones is just a mouse click away. This allows them to confidently learn the bones and their landmarks on the schools networked computer facilities at times when they cannot study the actual bones in the lab. The students also can quiz themselves about what they have studied with the quizzing feature of Virtual Anatomy's 3-D Skeleton.

Another effective way the program can be used to help students maximize their limited lab time and increase their learning curve is to assign certain bones and landmarks to study using Virtual Anatomy's 3-D Skeleton prior to coming to the laboratory. Then when they come to lab to work with real bones break them into small groups with a lab teaching assistant. In these small groups require them to take turns teaching each other about the bones and landmarks rather than just listening to the teaching assistant. The teaching assistant then becomes a facilitator to make sure things are being correctly taught. This approach increases student retention and learning. It is a well known fact that we learn more effectively when we are actively involved. There is no more active form of learning than teaching. For this to happen students need to have a center where they can have access to Virtual Anatomy's 3-D Skeleton for study and exploration prior to the lab session.

These are just a few of many possible ways that Virtual Anatomy's 3-D Skeleton can be used in your anatomy program. As mentioned earlier, we are interested in hearing the different ways you are using the program to improve learning and teaching at your school.

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View the Demo for Virtual Anatomy's 3-D Skeletal System