THE IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMIZING COMPUTER-ASSISTED EDUCATION SOFTWARE TOMEET THE PARTICULAR NEEDS OF LEARNERS

In recent years computer-assisted education (CAE) has provided excitin g new ways to present anatomical ideas. Several multimedia software pr ograms for medical education have recently entered the marketplace. Al ternatively, we developed a system that allows the faculty unfamiliar with the computer to convert a set of class notes into a multimedia le cture presentation easily. The program template was designed to organi ze lecture materials and easily display relevant text, graphics, video and interactive questions. Using Asymetrix Toolbook(R), we cart use a nimation, still images or full motion video of prosections to illustra te fundamental ideas. Students had access to the award winning ADAM(R) program versus our course-individualized multimedia program. Our prog ram correlated with the learning objectives established by the instruc tors of the class. Results of the student surveys showed that students gave higher ratings for the course-individualized Toolbook(R) program and laserdisc presentations over the ADAM(R) program for each questio n asked. The main point is that software, will not be used by medical and allied health students unless it is clearly linked to the course o bjectives. It must also be carefully integrated into the requirements as a helpful tool for enhancing cadaver dissection, lecture presentati ons and reading assignments. Medical and allied health students are un der strict time constraints during their education. Unless software si mplifies the learning of subjects which the students will be tested, s tudents will not find the time or the incentive to learn material beyo nd that which is required by an instructor for academic performance.