Background -There is a demand for new and efficient tools to teach anatomical sciences. Rapid developments in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) mean educational use of the technology is becoming increasingly viable. However, uptake of this technology in anatomy teaching is still limited. This brief review aims to examine the effectiveness of VR/AR in anatomy teaching and includes evaluation of: head mounted devices (HMDs), stereoscopic projectors and screens, AR Magic Mirrors and AR Magic Books.Methods -PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar were searched for relevant articles from 2013 to 29 th June 2018.Results -Students' academic performance was equal to or better than control methods for all four types of technology. All studies found high levels of student satisfaction for VR/AR teaching methods.Discussion -Various confounding factors and the large heterogeneity between studies are likely to have a major impact on results. Further research into the depth and longevity of learning in the different teaching methods, as well as their cost-effectiveness, would be beneficial for prospective institutions.

With emerging technology and globalization, distributed teamwork has become vital to organizational success and virtual environments are increasingly being utilized to “close the gap” between dispersed team members. Although most research conducted during the past few decades has focused on co-located teams, some efforts have analyzed the inputs, processes, and outputs necessary for effective interaction in virtual teams. For example, the Virtual Team Research Model proposed by Driskell and colleagues (2003) addresses the effects of computer mediated communication on team performance. Our current initiative expands upon this model by focusing on distributed teams that utilize virtual technology. We feel that by simultaneously considering both socio (i.e., distributed teamwork) and technical (i.e., virtual environments) factors, a more detailed picture of virtual teams will be illuminated and thereby more robust guidance can be provided to future research endeavors.

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