Chapter 8: Building a Brain: Development of a Neuroanatomy Educational Application

Neuroanatomical concepts can be difficult to grasp yet they must be understood to interpret patient signs and symptoms for any medical professional. From physical models, an interactive mobile application was developed to use digital technology to improve the educational experience of learning key aspects of neuroanatomy. Regular meetings with software and graphic designers over nine months allowed us to build a storyboard with images, labels, and descriptive content, and to determine how students would interact with the application. Students and faculty reviewed the application, and their feedback was incorporated into the evolving product. Physical therapy students made an in-class comparison, by survey, between a physical model and this application. Results: 73 % of 28 doctor of physical therapy students preferred the digital modelling for learning neuroanatomy and stated they would use it outside of class. Interactive, self-paced, tactile learning tools can be more helpful in retention of content than lectures for some students. The digital, game-like format provides more opportunities for practice and feedback than the physical model does, which is beneficial for learning. The described process of transforming a physical model to a digital model may be useful in developing innovative teaching tools.