A.D.A.M. Practice Practical, Version 1.0
None of the documentation or literature accompanying A.D.A.M. Practice Practical indicates which age group or educational level is the primary target audience for this program. However, the user’s guide advises that anyone wishing to expand their knowledge of anatomy, test it, or learn more anatomy will benefit from this version of the A.D.A.M. software. More specifically, one can assume that upper level/advanced placement high school students or lower level and introductory college level A & P (anatomy and physiology) students will benefit. The CD (and software) installed without much difficulty on a Gateway 2000 Pentium 90 with 16 MB RAM and a 2X CD player. Users can follow on‐screen installation prompts if using auto play/notification in Windows 95 or follow the user’s guide instructions (pages 4‐5) for both Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. Manufacturer’s minimum requirements include: 486 33MHz, Windows 3.11 or Windows 95, 5MB hard disk space (for the compact version with over 13 MB required for a full installation), 8MB RAM and an SVGA monitor. A hybrid version (Macintosh, Windows, Windows 95) will be available soon.
The installation process was relatively problem‐free although the software indicated that there was sufficient room on this reviewer’s hard drive for a complete installation but at 83% completion, it advised that there was no more room. This was inaccurate and after deleting the installed components and re‐installing the entire program, all went smoothly.
A small (merely the size of the CD case), easily readable User’s Guide accompanies the CD and is sufficient for the needs of most users.
Simply put, this product is a “modern” version of the old drill and practice software programs. And, as its title indicates, it makes no pretenses at anything else.
The program contains over 13,000 pinned anatomical structures, is richly illustrated, and has excellent magnification from 50% to 200%. A useful feature is that whenever the cursor is moved over one of the pinned structures, the name of the pinned item appears on the left side of the screen. The graphics are clear and concise. There are also 15,000 questions for testing purposes and review.
Unfortunately, this reviewer’s 14” screen on which the A.D.A.M. product was evaluated was either much too small and/or the software as designed is too graphically “busy.” Probably, both problems weakened the visual effect of the program. The screen was often divided into distinct left and right views with, for example, (in Review Mode) the review and test file folders on the left and the area under study on the right. An interesting option for users is to split the screen further into four panes but this selection crowds the screen even more, diminishing visual comfort. With the default configuration, the images were too large for the screen and one had to constantly scroll up and down the right side of the monitor to obtain an overview.
In the Dissection section, photographs of certain objects are available but often look half drawn and half photographed. However, all drawings are extremely well done (as one would expect to find in an A & P text) and there are deep as well as superficial dissection levels and graphics.
The program also provides a section for users to add their own notes and the Test module can be modified by the anatomy region, body system and question type. In the test mode, there are numerous options available to users including timed answers, feedback, types of questions, answering method, etc. The test mode includes a search feature. Unfortunately, while users would benefit from its availability at other points within the program, this search function is accessible only in test mode.
Additionally as a study aid, the search feature is also limited because it will not recognize “general” terms such as the word “chest” which returned nothing; and entries with transposed letters or misspellings such as “tibai” were not recognized until corrected. Thus, an opportunity for the software to instruct via spell check is lost.
In terms of anatomy content, there are numerous entries and categories and the subject matter which this reviewer checked against a standard A & P text, was rather comprehensive.
The A.D.A.M. Practical Practice CD meets its objectives of being a drill and practice resource for anatomy students or future Jeopardy contestants. However, prior to purchasing the program, one should carefully assess the apparent graphic overload which tends to interfere with the learning objectives of the software. There was no sound content on the version under review and this omission seemed strange given the programming technology currently available to software authors. Sound could have enhanced the program via pronunciation guides for students as well as to relieve the “boredom” which accompanies drill and practice applications.
This reviewer has used other A.D.A.M. products, particularly the Biology software (including the new version), found it extremely valuable, and was truly surprised by the blandness of the product under review. Therefore, the program is recommended with reservation.
