Blue Mountain College
March 2, 2020
As access to cadaveric resources and funding for instructional resources grow more competitive, far too many anatomy instructors are left scrambling to provide the necessary educational resources for their students. Anatomy is already a difficult subject to teach; obstacles like resource and funding shortages certainly doesn’t make this task any easier for instructors.
Blue Mountain College has experienced these issues firsthand, struggling to provide their students with cadaveric resources and engaging course material. After taking the plunge into virtual anatomy, BMC's students are now able to virtually dissect thousands of examples of real anatomy visualized in 3D.
Mitzi Dunagan began teaching Biology at Blue Mountain College around 6 years ago. Each year she has witnessed the challenges of increasing costs and shortages of cadaveric resources, as well as the outdated classroom technology that BMC's anatomy instructors have been faced with. Searching for a solution to their issues, Mitzi began researching virtual anatomy software solutions and applications. As the anatomy curriculum and institutional resources are constantly changing, Mitzi knew their courses would require a 3D anatomy solution that could adapt to any scenario they found themselves in, seeking to solve their problems next semester and for years to come.
"BodyViz was a better fit for us because it isn't constrained to a table like many of the other virtual anatomy solutions and can adapt to all of our anatomy courses in any environment."
Although BMC’s 3D anatomy solution will not be fully implemented into all of their anatomy courses until next fall, BodyViz has already proven to be an incredible resource in their anatomy and physiology courses. By offsetting the severe shortages of cadaveric resources, BodyViz has helped students visualize organs in a much more efficient and engaging manner. Additionally, Mitzi has utilized the 3D anatomy solution in her Medical Microbiology courses, visualizing how sinus infections can penetrate and infect brain tissue for her students.
As BMC begins to implement BodyViz into their remaining anatomy courses, Mitzi is confident that students will be able to quickly adapt to the controls and user interface of BodyViz virtual dissection software. Upon their complete implementation, BodyViz will be available for students during:
- Lecture sessions to visualize and explore real anatomical examples in 3D as a class
- Lab sessions in small group collaboration
- Individual review sessions outside of the classroom and lab
Looking into the future, Mitzi plans on expanding their 3D anatomy solution with our Interactive Anatomy Content in their A&P labs. With the educational content modules, she aims to improve student comprehension and retention of course concepts by engaging them with pre-designed, interactive quizzes and activities. BMC's A&P students will have access to these modules at any time through their learning management system, Canvas.
Although Blue Mountain College previously struggled with providing anatomical resources for their students, Mitzi Dunagan and her team were able to augment their anatomy courses with access to real anatomical resources for students in a very cost-effective manner. To learn more about how Mitzi transformed BMC's traditional anatomy classrooms into engaging and exciting learning environments, schedule an interactive demonstration with the BodyViz team!