A Large-Scale, Multiplayer Virtual Reality Deployment: A Novel Approach to Distance Education in Human Anatomy

Abstract

The arrival of COVID-19 restrictions and the increasing demand of online instruction options posed challenges to education communities worldwide, especially in human anatomy. In response, Colorado State University developed and deployed an 8-week-long large-scale virtual reality (VR) course to supplement online human anatomy instruction. Students ( n = 75) received a VR-capable laptop and head-mounted display and participated in weekly synchronous group laboratory sessions with instructors. The software enabled students to remotely collaborate in a common virtual space to work with human anatomy using an artist-rendered cadaver. Qualitative data were collected on student engagement, confidence, and reactions to the new technology. Quantitative data assessed student knowledge acquisition and retention of anatomical spatial relationships. Results indicated that students performed better in the online course (mean = 82.27%) when compared to previous in-person laboratories (mean = 80.08%). The utilization of VR promoted student engagement and increased opportunities for student interaction with teaching assistants, peers, and course content. Notably, students reported benefits that focused on unique aspects of their virtual learning environment, including the ability to infinitely scale the cadaver and walk inside and around anatomical structures. Results suggested that using VR was equivalent to 2D methods in student learning and retention of anatomical relationships. Overall, the virtual classroom maintained the rigor of traditional gross anatomy laboratories without negatively impacting student examination scores and provided a high level of accessibility, without compromising learner engagement. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-023-01751-w.

Learning technology in health professions education: Realising an (un)imagined future

“…Examples included the use of social media, 50 studentcreated digital resources, 95,96 serious games or escape rooms [97][98][99] and virtual and augmented reality. 64,65,100,101 With these examples, technologies were used in novel ways to allow students to learn more deeply or to extend learning beyond the traditionally possible.…”

Estado atual do estudo da anatomia: Uma revisão de literatura

“…Nessa circunstância, vale destacar a utilização do ensino por meio de softwares para dispositivos mobile e computadores pessoais, bem como pelo uso da realidade virtual (Figura 4). A utilização da tecnologia da realidade virtual é viabilizada por dispositivos utilizados sobre a cabeça do estudante, que juntamente com softwares, permitem uma visualização detalhada e com profundidade não só sobre a totalidade corpo, mas também de estruturas anatômicas particulares (Brown et al, 2023). Não obstante, cabe salientar que o amplo acesso a esses métodos tecnológicos ainda é escasso, sobretudo nos países em desenvolvimento (Kochhar et al, 2023).…”

Assistive Technology for Distance Education in Metaverse-Based Environment: A Rapid Review

“…In Medicine, Brown et al (2023) investigated the role of VR in DE through a large-scale online course on human anatomy. Overall, the virtual classroom maintained the rigor of traditional macroscopic anatomy labs without negatively impacting students' exam scores and provided a high level of accessibility without compromising student engagement.…”

“…Most primary studies we analyzed mention the COVID-19 pandemic [Sun et al 2022, Williams et al 2021, Dunnagan and Gallardo-Williams 2020, Brown et al 2023]. In this context, which solutions use metaverse for emergencies?…”

“…An additional consideration is that some studies have not adequately addressed the concept of "a massive virtual environment parallel to the physical world" [Lee et al 2021], which is frequently used to define the Metaverse. With the exception of Brown et al (2023), most proposals do not explicitly state whether their approach supports interaction among multiple users making the challenges more complex when ensuring adequate accessibility in a massive educational environment.…”