Teaching Anatomy at Orting High School with BodyViz Human Anatomy Software
March 15, 2022
Ms. Renee Romo and Orting High School
Renee Romo is a well-known name among the halls of Orting High School in Washington. Renee performs many roles at her school. Athletic Trainer, Sports Medicine Instructor, Sports Medicine Club Advisor, and Anatomy & Physiology, Nutrition & Wellness, and Introduction to Medical Careers Instructor are the many different roles that the name Ms. Romo correlates with. Renee started at Orting High School in 2015 as the school athletic trainer and in 2017 became an instructor of Anatomy & Physiology, and Introduction to Medical Careers. Renee is working on building the Anatomy program at Orting High School and decided that incorporating BodyViz human anatomy software into her classes and clubs would be an exciting choice and opportunity for her students. We had the chance to have a conversation with Renee between her crazy schedule filled with classes, sports medicine club, and preparing for the state wrestling tournament, about her and her students' excitement about BodyViz virtual anatomy dissection!
“Being able to have access to some of the premade interactive anatomy content, and know that I can go in, look at what is available, it is already pre-made, and I can adjust it - is exciting because I know it will save me a lot of time.”
- Ms. Renee Romo from Orting High School
Accessible and Unlimited Anatomy
Orting High School began looking for anatomy learning resources after using Anatomage tables at state competitions through Washington Career Technical Sports Medicine Association (WCTSMA). Originally, Orting High School’s plan was to invest in Anatomage tables, but the cost and limited accessibility of Anatomage tables led Orting High School to search for other solutions. Renee explained, “We were trying to go the Anatomage route, but it was not going to work for money reasons, so our IT department was looking around at other alternatives. The one big downfall about virtual dissection tables is that it's one table. With the BodyViz 3D anatomy program we can get into the hands of every single kid rather than five kids at a time at one table - which is limiting.” Renee was extremely excited about the idea of every student being able to have access to BodyViz in their hands on individual iPads. “With each class I have a variety of 9th to 12th graders, so I could have a 9th grade or a 12th grade gifted student who's about to go into the medical field. Students are excited by the accessibility of the 3D anatomy software and the ability of controlling it on their own,” said Renee. Orting High School's IT department brought BodyViz to Renee as a possibility. After learning more about BodyViz anatomy software, scheduling a demo, and using it for herself - Renee felt BodyViz was a good fit.
Sparked Interest and Real Patient Cases
Orting High School is new to implementing the BodyViz 3D anatomy program. Renee’s plans to use BodyViz in her Sports Medicine 1 and 2 courses. The Sports Medicine 1 class focuses on the low body joints and Renee likes that with BodyViz, there are relevant scans like a fibular fracture of a real patient that her and her students can interact with and virtually dissect. Renee plans for students to have BodyViz virtual dissections open on an iPad at their desk while they complete worksheets. Students can look at real 3D human anatomy examples of the muscle groups and bones, zoom in, and examine the actual anatomy of someone. Renee also will be using the different case studies BodyViz offers. “In anatomy class at the end of each unit, we go over different diseases and disorders related to each system- so that's why BodyViz is perfect. I can look through the library database, pull one that is relevant, and look at it.” Instead of just showing pictures online of a disease, students can see and interact with exact, actual 3D anatomy examples of a disease or disorder, at their desk, on an iPad, and then use this same resource in the lab. Orting High School has a lab space for practicing taping in their sports medicine classes and club. It is important for students to be able to understand the injury, ligaments, bones, and see what’s actually getting damaged in the process. A student can be practicing tapping, while also seeing the real internal 3D human anatomy on their iPad.
“The virtual dissection aspect where you are able to change the plains and change the different types of tissue is one of my favorite features because being able to see anatomy is one thing, but being able to see the different tissue types is a huge difference. For the kids to be able to understand tissue types and layers is important. The variety of the BodyViz dissection database makes it so much fun to look through and it's always growing which is amazing.”
- Ms. Renee Romo from Orting High School
Exciting Opportunities for Students
We asked Renee what her students thought about BodyViz and she said, “A lot of them are like, ‘Oh my gosh that's so cool! We were going to be able to play with that? Oh, wow!’ We are a smaller school with about 900 kids. Some of the bigger schools don't have the sports medicine or some of the CTE classes that we actually offer, so for our smaller school being able to have access to this is very exciting.” Renee went on to explain the opportunity and spark of interest BodyViz is for not only affecting her class, but also how it is affecting the community of Orting, “Some of the kids from our school are possibly more blue collar. You have some families that work in Seattle and it's an hour and a half away, and you have some students that their goal is to just graduate and they're gonna go work. We even have kids that live up the hill and out in the back roads. Being able to bring this sort of technology into a smaller area, and get that accessibility to them of something that they probably would not normally be able to see - the students are kind of surprised. It makes them say, ‘Wait, we have this at our school?’ so they're excited and the fact that they're going to be able to have it on their desk while they are working is super exciting! It's really an opportunity for them to experience something that they might not be able to.” BodyViz virtual anatomy dissection is creating new learning opportunities and sparking interest at Orting High School.
Are you interested in saving time and providing your students with the same opportunities Renee Romo has brought her students at Orting High School? Start by scheduling a demo and talking with our team to learn more about our customized solutions to fit your anatomy courses needs! Our reps will show you more about our interactive cadavers, human anatomy software, and explain how you can increase anatomy learning at your school! BodyViz Anatomy and Physiology software brings anatomy class to life with real patient 3D dissection, interactive anatomy learning, and more! Schedule your demo today!
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