Online veterinary anatomy education in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: pros and cons / Educación en línea de anatomía veterinaria en la era de la pandemia de COVID-19: ventajas y desventajas

SUMMARY: Consecutive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic made teaching and learning tasks harder for veterinary anatomy faculties and students worldwide compared to the prepandemic scenario. Online teaching has been triggered across several countries as a precautionary measure against COVID-19. Educational institutions are looking towards online learning platforms to continue educating the students, as many veterinary institutes have been shut down due to COVID-19. As with most teaching methods, online learning also has its own set of positives and negatives. This letter aims to highlight the pros and cons of online veterinary anatomy education in the COVID-19 pandemic period. In conclusion, prepandemic teaching has been effective and adaptable for veterinary anatomy students for a better learning process, whereas online teaching has major cons over a few pros.

RESUMEN: Las oleadas consecutivas de la pandemia COVID-19 han dificultado las tareas de enseñanza y aprendizaje para las facultades de anatomía veterinaria y para los estudiantes de todo el mundo en comparación con el escenario prepandémico. Se ha activado en varios países la enseñanza en línea como medida de precaución durante la crisis de la COVID-19. Las instituciones educacionales están buscando plataformas de aprendizaje en línea para continuar la enseñanza de los alumnos, debido a que muchos institutos veterinarios se han cerrado. Como ocurre con la mayoría de los métodos de enseñanza, el aprendizaje en línea también tiene su propio conjunto de aspectos positivos y negativos. Este estudio tiene como objetivo resaltar las ventajas y desventajas de la educación en anatomía veterinaria en línea en el período de la pandemia de la COVID-19. En conclusión, la enseñanza prepandemia ha sido eficaz y adaptable para los estudiantes de anatomía veterinaria para lograr un proceso mejor de aprendizaje, mientras que la enseñanza en línea tiene mayores desventajas.

Veterinary anatomy during the COVID-19 pandemic in brazil: research focused on pedagogical practice / Anatomía veterinaria durante la pandemia COVID-19 en brasil: investigación centrada en la práctica pedagógica

SUMMARY: Since the first Brazilian Veterinary Medicine course in 1910, many curricular changes have taken place. The pedagogical project have been centered on the student as a subject of learning and supported by the professors as a critical mediator of this process and the pandemic of COVID-19 accelerated this change. Many professors have taught video lessons to ensure continuity of teaching, research and extension, even at a distance. This paper, therefore, aims at reporting the development of animal anatomy didactic contents applied on online platforms in Portuguese language. To this, eight researches were developed addressing the teaching-learning of Morphological Sciences contents to be incorporated into distance education platforms that focused canine and feline anatomy, the study of neuroanatomy in the ovine, bovine, equine and primate species and the surgical anatomy of the locomotor apparatus of the equine specie. Thus, virtual teaching-learning platform can help, as a complementary tool to face-to-face classes, in obtaining the skills, abilities and attitudes required for the training of veterinary students in Brazil.

RESUMEN: Se han efectuado importantes cambios curriculares desde el primer curso de Medicina Veterinaria de Brasil en 1910. El proyecto pedagógico se ha centrado en el alumno como sujeto de aprendizaje con apoyo de los docentes como mediadores críticos de este proceso; con la pandemia de COVID-19 se aceleró este cambio. Muchos profesores han impartido lecciones en video para garantizar la continuidad de la docencia, la investigación y la extensión, incluso a distancia. Este artículo tiene como objetivo informar sobre el desarrollo de los contenidos didácticos sobre la anatomía animal, aplicados en plataformas online en portugués. Para ello, se desarrollaron ocho investigaciones que abordan la enseñanza-aprendizaje de contenidos de Ciencias Morfológicas para ser incorporados en plataformas de educación a distancia que enfocaran la anatomía canina y felina, el estudio de la neuroanatomía en las especies ovina, bovina, equina y primate, y la anatomía quirúrgica del aparato locomotor de la especie equina. De esta forma, la plataforma virtual de enseñanza-aprendizaje puede complementar las clases presenciales en la obtención de las habilidades y actitudes requeridas para la formación de los estudiantes de veterinaria en Brasil.

Evaluation of the online learning of veterinary anatomy education during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in Egypt: Students' perceptions.

The sudden shift of veterinary anatomy teaching from traditional to online mode during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic lockdown was a major challenge used for the first time in Egyptian veterinary medical schools. This study aimed to evaluate the students' perspectives regarding the shift of veterinary anatomy teaching to online mode during the lockdown in Egypt. A total of 502 students from all veterinary medical schools in Egypt (n = 17) answered the questionnaire. The results revealed that nearly two-thirds of students felt enthusiastic about studying anatomy online during the pandemic. Moreover, approximately 63% of students were satisfied with the provided learning materials, 66% were able to understand anatomy using the online learning system during the lockdown period, 67% were comfortable with technological skills during their online study, and 47% believed that online learning of anatomy could replace face-to-face teaching. Therefore, despite the problems associated with the emergency switch to remote teaching, it appears to be a suitable alternative in teaching veterinary anatomy in Egyptian universities during this pandemic crisis in Egyptian universities. Moreover, the study provided several measurements to overcome the common problems associated with this challenging method for future application, such as providing three-dimensional virtual tools and electronic devices with either free or low-priced Internet packages, and measuring students' understanding before and after each lecture. This is the first study to solicit the early students' feedback regarding the emergency shift to online veterinary anatomy teaching which might help decision-makers in Egypt for future implementation of online learning of veterinary anatomy.

Consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on veterinary anatomy education in India / Consecuencias de la pandemia de COVID-19 en la educación en anatomía veterinaria en India

SUMMARY: As the world is struggling to cope with SARS-CoV-2, the aetiological agent of COVID-19, which has led to a global pandemic defying the geographical borders and putting the lives of billions at risk (Priyanka et al., 2020), the most critical question that remains to be elucidated by the faculty of education is whether the virtual mode of teaching will continue or we will be back to the pre-COVID scenario of teaching and learning. Being an assistant professor teaching veterinary anatomy to the students enrolled in the first-year Bachelor of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry (B.V.Sc. & A.H.), I felt it essential to comment on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on anatomical education (Franchi, 2020) in India. The present situation of virtual education may impact the future of current veterinary students as practically they can't be sound just depending on theories.

RESUMEN: Mientras el mundo lucha por hacer frente al SARS-CoV-2, el agente etiológico del COVID-19, que ha provocado una pandemia mundial que desafía las fronteras geográficas y pone en riesgo la vida de miles de millones (Priyanka et al., 2020), la pregunta más crítica que deben dilucidar los docentes de la educación, es si la modalidad virtual de enseñanza continuará o volveremos al escenario pre-COVID de enseñanza y aprendizaje. Siendo profesor asistente de anatomía veterinaria, como docente de los estudiantes matriculados en el primer año de Licenciatura en Ciencias Veterinarias y Ganadería (BVSc. & AH), sentí que era esencial comentar sobre el impacto de la pandemia de COVID-19 en la educación anatómica en India (Franchi, 2020). La situación actual de la educación virtual puede afectar el futuro de los estudiantes de veterinaria actuales, ya que prácticamente no pueden contar con conocimientos sólidos dependiendo de las teorías.

Drawing in Veterinary Anatomy Education: What Do Students Use It For?

In contrast to medical education, information on the use of arts as a learning approach is scarce in veterinary anatomy. The aim of this prospective, questionnaire-based study was to survey students' use of drawing in various aspects of veterinary anatomy learning (self-study, examinations, preparation for, and reflection on cadaver dissection). The quantitative data showed that first-year students with artistic preferences used drawing significantly more often in most aspects of anatomy learning than students with no such preferences, apart from the reported use of drawing in examinations and for reflection after cadaver dissection. The lack of significant correlations of the reported use of drawing in examinations with any other study variable provided support for the author's observation that student-generated drawings are not as commonly used in examinations as previously. In contrast to the study hypothesis, previous university studies did not correlate significantly with any aspect of the use of drawing in anatomy learning. None of the reported uses of drawing addressed the benefits of drawing in learning the comparative anatomy of animal species, a characteristic distinguishing veterinary anatomy from human anatomy. Qualitative student feedback indicated that encouragement and teacher-produced images would increase the use of drawing as a learning approach even if the implementation of drawing into the curriculum is not feasible. Conclusions from this study were implemented through self-directed learning in anatomy courses that replaced the canceled cadaveric dissections during the COVID-19 outbreak and also through the ongoing drawing workshops to further advance the use of drawing in veterinary anatomy learning.