Effectiveness of a computer-based tutorial for teaching how to make a blood smear.

BACKGROUND: Computer-aided instruction (CAI) was developed to teach veterinary students how to make blood smears. This instruction was intended to replace the traditional instructional method in order to promote efficient use of faculty resources while maintaining learning outcomes and student satisfaction. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a computer-aided blood smear tutorial on 1) instructor\u27s teaching time, 2) students\u27 ability to make blood smears, and 3) students\u27 ability to recognize smear quality. METHODS: Three laboratory sessions for senior veterinary students were taught using traditional methods (control group) and 4 sessions were taught using the CAI tutorial (experimental group). Students in the control group received a short demonstration and lecture by the instructor at the beginning of the laboratory and then practiced making blood smears. Students in the experimental group received their instruction through the self-paced, multimedia tutorial on a laptop computer and then practiced making blood smears. Data was collected from observation, interview, survey questionnaires, and smear evaluation by students and experts using a scoring rubric. RESULTS: Students using the CAI made better smears and were better able to recognize smear quality. The average time the instructor spent in the room was not significantly different between groups, but the quality of the instructor time was improved with the experimental instruction. CONCLUSIONS: The tutorial implementation effectively provided students and instructors with a teaching and learning experience superior to the traditional method of instruction. Using CAI is a viable method of teaching students to make blood smears

Electronic blending in virtual microscopy

Virtual microscopy (VM) is a relatively new technology that transforms the computer into a microscope. In essence, VM allows for the scanning and transfer of glass slides from light microscopy technology to the digital environment of the computer. This transition is also a function of the change from print knowledge to electronic knowledge, or as Gregory Ulmer puts it, a shift ‘from literacy to electracy.’ Blended learning, of course, is capable of including a wide variety of educational protocols in its definition; it is also at the heart of electronically mediated forms of education. Since 2004, VM has been introduced into Dentistry, Medicine, Biomedical Science and Veterinary Science courses at the University of Queensland, a project aimed at consolidating VM techniques and technologies into their curricula. This paper uses some of the evaluative survey data collected from this embedding process to discuss the role blended learning plays in electronic styles of learning, or ‘electracy’, before finally reflecting on the quantum world represented in VM imagery

Student\u27s Perception of Computer Tutorials When Reviewing for Exams

I have spent the last year and a half learning the many aspects required when creating a dynamic student-centered classroom. I was very interested in the many topics that were presented to me in my graduate courses. This made it very difficult for me to narrow my research topic. As a result I find myself on a significantly different path than I had started on in September. Having had these rich experiences with differentiation and having tried many of the strategies I decided I would focus on some aspect of differentiation. however, this past fall I was enrolled in an instructional technology course that introduced me to the many ways in which a teacher can infuse technology into the classroom. This experience then led me down another path. I was very interested in the subject but also wanted to know if technology really is as beneficial as some believe it to be. Is technology the answer to our educational woes or just something nice and pretty to show the kids? Through all of these experiences and false starts I finally came to realize my true research question. i want to examine the benefits of using computer tutorial to review for an exam. I especially want to know from students who participate in the computer tutorial if they prefer the tutorial to the usual paper-and-pencil review sheets they receive before an exam. I also want to know what particular aspects of the tutorial they find beneficial and if they feel it is worth doing again

Teaching small animal reproduction via virtual patients

Virtual patients have become an interesting alternative in medical education. Due to increasing demands regarding theoretical and clinical teaching and to improve an interdisciplinary approach, a new blended learning concept including virtual patients was developed and implemented in the veterinary curriculum of the Freie Universität Berlin. In the presented project, three virtual patients from the field of canine reproduction were developed. They focus on pregnancy diagnosis with suspected luteal insufficiency, pyometra and benign prostatic hyperplasia, respectively. The results of an evaluation by veterinary students of the 7th semester showed a high acceptance of virtual patients in a blended learning reproduction module in the interdisciplinary lectures. Students especially preferred videos, such as video lectures, hands‐on videos and animations as well as a glossary for background information, to successfully and autonomously work on a virtual case. The content covered by the new modules that were developed in the context of this project is part of a spiral curriculum; they will be revised and enhanced during the clinical year

Clustering of facial action units in horses with pain

Pain assessment in horses is a relatively new topic in veterinary medicine and there is no universally accepted pain scale for assessing pain in horses. Assessing and managing pain is essential for the welfare of the animal. Several different pain scale systems have been made for both humans and animals. An example of this is Composite Pain Scale (CPS), where several parameters, such as behaviour and physiological parameters, are being assessed at the same time. Studies of pain assessment through facial expressions are several in human medicine but only a few studies have been made on horses. The Horse Grimace Scale and Equine Pain Scale are examples of studies on facial expressions and pain in horses. Equine Facial Action Coding System (EquiFACS) is a method of identifying and coding facial expressions on horses on the basis of underlying facial musculature and muscle movement. The system is based on Action Units and Action Descriptors which each represent a separate movement. Facial actions have been used together with artificial intelligence in order to evaluate pain in humans. This is probably possible to do with horses as well, but more training data is needed. This study included 28 films of horses with and without pain, both in experimental and clinical setting. The films were coded using Equine Facial Action Coding System in order to analyse how the different facial action units cluster in horses with and without pain. Relevant facial actions for the equine pain face were selected in order to visualise changes in duration, frequency and occurrence between painful and non-painful horses, as well as upper and lower facial actions. According to the two-sample t test, only one facial action unit (AD38, nostril dilator) had statistical significance. However, the linear discriminant analysis showed a 92% correct classification in duration in pain/no pain. Stress may have influenced pain behaviour due to stress-induced analgesia or hyperalgesia. A larger sample size is needed in order to investigate this further, but there is potential for EquiFACS to be used as a tool for objective pain scoring

Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Handbook 2011

The use of lead (Pb) ammunition in the form of shot pellets has been identified as a Pb exposure risk in wildlife and their human consumers. We explore the hypothesis that Pb shot ban enforcement reduces the risk of avian Pb poisoning as well as Pb exposure in game meat consumers. We assessed compliance with a partial ban on Pb shot commencing in 2003 by examination of 937 waterbirds harvested by hunters between 2007 and 2012 in the Ebro delta (Spain). Prevalence of Pb shot ingestion was determined, as were Pb concentrations in liver and muscle tissue to evaluate the potential for Pb exposure in game meat consumers. Hunted birds with only embedded Pb shot (no steel) declined from 26.9% in 2007–08 to < 2% over the following three hunting seasons after ban reinforcement. Pb shot ingestion in mallards decreased from a pre-ban value of 30.2% to 15.5% in the post-ban period. Liver Pb levels were predominantly defined by the presence of ingested shot, whereas muscle levels were defined by the presence of both ingested and embedded shot. Only 2.5% of mallard muscle tissue had Pb levels above European Union regulations for meat (0.1 μg/g wet weight) in the 2008–09 season, when Pb shot ingestion prevalence was also at a minimum (5.1%). Effective restrictions in Pb ammunition use have a dual benefit since this reduces Pb exposure for game meat consumers due to embedded ammunition as well as reducing Pb poisoning in waterbirds