Using embryology screencasts: A useful addition to the student learning experience?
- 4 March 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Anatomical Sciences Education
- Vol. 4 (2), 57-63
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.209
Abstract
Although podcasting has been a well used resource format in the last few years as a way of improving the student learning experience, the inclusion of enhanced audiovisual formats such as screencasts has been less used, despite the advantage that they work well for both visual and auditory learners. This study examines the use of and student reaction to a set of screencasts introduced to accompany embryology lectures within a second year module at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Five mini-lecture screencasts and one review quiz screencast were produced as digital recordings of computer screen output with audio narration and released to students via the managed learning environment (MLE). Analysis of server log information from the MLE showed that the screencasts were accessed by many of the students in the cohort, although the exact numbers were variable depending on the screencast. Students accessed screencasts at different times of the day and over the whole of the access period, although maximum downloads were predictably recorded leading up to the written examination. Quantitative and qualitative feedback demonstrated that most students viewed the screencasts favorably in terms of usefulness to their learning, and end-of-module written examination scores suggest that the screencasts may have had a positive effect on student outcome when compared with previous student attainment. Overall, the development of a series of embryology screencasts to accompany embryology lecture sessions appears to be a useful addition to learning for most students and not simply an innovation that checks the box of “technology engagement.” Anat Sci Educ 4: 57–63, 2011. © 2011 American Association of Anatomists.Keywords
This publication has 23 references indexed in Scilit:
- Live lecture versus video podcast in undergraduate medical education: A randomised controlled trialBMC Medical Education, 2010
- Pulling my gut out—Simple tools for engaging students in gross anatomy lecturesAnatomical Sciences Education, 2010
- The utility of podcasts in Web 2.0 human anatomyMedical Education, 2009
- The educational value and effectiveness of lecturesThe Clinical Teacher, 2008
- Diffusion of innovations: Smartphones and wireless anatomy learning resourcesAnatomical Sciences Education, 2008
- Medical student retention of embryonic development: Impact of the dimensions added by multimedia tutorialsAnatomical Sciences Education, 2008
- Learning Strategies and Study Approaches of Postsecondary Students With DyslexiaJournal of Learning Disabilities, 2008
- Medical Student Attendance at Non-compulsory LecturesAdvances in Health Sciences Education, 2006
- Provision of anatomical teaching in a new British medical school: Getting the right mixThe Anatomical Record Part B: The New Anatomist, 2005
- Analysis of medical students' use of Web‐based resources for a gross anatomy and embryology courseClinical Anatomy, 2002