Advancing the Playing Field. A look at how virtual reality can change the future of anatomy teaching learning process

Abstract

Play combines all three aspects of learning: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Visual learners have a preference for seeing. Auditory learners’ best learn through listening. kinesthetic learners prefer to learn via experience—moving, touching, and doing. Through play, children learn a set of skills such as social skills, creativity, handto‐eye coordination, problem solving, and imagination. It is argued that these skills are better learned through play rather than through flashcards or academic drills. An element of “play” is an essential condition for perennial learning to occur in all individuals. So why should we leave this tool behind while learning medicine? Commonly, lectures are designed to favor one or maybe two types of learning styles, usually leaving gaps within medical education. Play is more than simply having a good time; it is about working out rules, understanding constraints, being absorbed by novelty, using imagination and innovating. It is also about extending, modifying and augmenting learning activities. This project brings an overt element of play to the representation of fundamental anatomical concepts and thus engages students more strongly in the learning process. The “Microsoft Kinect™ gesture recognition device” enables users to simultaneously stimulate all three learning styles at once leading to the most profound learning experience. With the Kinect you experience an immersive 3D environment, with auditory commands coupled with kinesthetic control. Theoretically providing a learning machine that can be utilized in labs, tutorials, lectures, and even at home. This project brings the element of play to the representation of fundamental anatomical concepts, and thus engages students more strongly in the learning process.