Abstract
In recent years student exposure to computer applications has increased at an unprecedented rate. Yet the use of these promising technologies in education remains in its infancy. The growing practice of ‘gamification’ offers today’s educators the means of conveying their lessons in a more engaging way, by utilising computer game mechanics. However, many of these learning tools have not been empirically evaluated. This research investigated the development of a desktop computer application, to replace an existing learning resource, a video, currently used by over 700 life sciences students a year in one of the top 100 universities of the world. The interactive game presents the same essential information as the video, on key anatomical features of mammalian skulls, and provides student self-testing. Results from a two-treatment, pre- and post-intervention experimental design suggest the new product is better for providing both knowledge acquisition and a positive learning experience. Nevertheless, the results are unlikely to be statistically significant. Insights from the findings are discussed and directions for future research are given.
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Acknowledgements
Access to skulls was facilitated by David Newham. CT scanning was performed at the Small Animal Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow by Gawain Hammond. Support in modelling and scripting was given by Jordan Trench, Connor Zelinsky and Yannick Bande. Hardware from the School of Simulation & Visualisation, The Glasgow School of Art, was used courtesy of Daniel Livingstone. The publication of this work was initiated by Paul Rea. Lessons, on computer modelling, were given by Mike Marriott and Gillian Moffat, and on scripting by Brian Loranger.
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Latham, B., Poyade, M., Finlay, C., Edmond, A., McVey, M. (2019). New Tools in Education: Development and Learning Effectiveness of a Computer Application for Use in a University Biology Curriculum. In: Rea, P. (eds) Biomedical Visualisation . Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1138. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14227-8_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14227-8_3
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