ABSTRACT
There is heightened optimism about the potential of 3D visualization software as an alternative learning resource in radiology education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 3D visualization software on students' learning of oral radiographic interpretation from 2D radiographic images. Fourth-year dental students underwent a learning intervention phase of radiographic interpretation of oral pathoses using 3D visualization software. The success of the educational intervention was assessed by quantitative means, using a radiographic interpretation test, and by qualitative means, using a structured Likert-scale survey, asking students to evaluate their own learning outcomes. It was anticipated that training with the rotational mode of 3D visualization software would provide additional depth cues, enabling students to create spatial-mental models of anatomy that they can apply to 2D radiographic interpretation of oral pathoses. Although quantitative assessment did not support this, questionnaire evaluations demonstrated a positive effect of the 3D visualization software by enhancing students' learning about radiographic interpretation. Despite much optimism about the educational potential of 3D visualization software, it is important to understand the interactions between learners and such new technologies in order to identify potential advantages and limitations prior to embracing them as learning resources.
Subject(s)
Education, Dental , Imaging, Three-Dimensional/methods , Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted , Radiography, Dental/methods , Radiology/education , Software , Attitude of Health Personnel , Computer-Assisted Instruction , Cone-Beam Computed Tomography/methods , Depth Perception , Female , Humans , Learning , Male , Radiography, Panoramic , Space Perception , Students, Dental/psychology , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Recent technological innovation has now made it possible to turn the computer into a microscope. This has entailed a shift from light microscopy to virtual microscopy. This development then foregrounds the issue of the pedagogy involved in this move from the analogue technology of the light microscope to the digital, computerized instance of virtual microscopy. In order to address this issue, undergraduate students enrolled in the Bachelor of Dental Science program at the University of Queensland School of Dentistry were surveyed to ascertain their preference for light or virtual microscopy. The value of this study is that it was conducted on the same cohort of students in two separate courses in 2006 and 2008, giving it longitudinal validity. The responses were overwhelmingly in favor of virtual microscopy. When it came to completely replacing the light microscope with virtual microscopy, however, students were much more ambivalent about such a wholesale change although this was less of an issue in the senior year. This shift from light to virtual microscopy signals larger changes in the tertiary sector from print-literate to electronic forms of knowledge and from teacher-centered to student-focused frames of learning. In short, we are in the midst of the e-evolution of microscopy in dental education.
