Document Detail


Perspective: Electronic systems of knowledge in the world of virtual microscopy.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19707064     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Across a broad range of medical disciplines, learning how to use an optical or light microscope has been a mandatory inclusion in the undergraduate curriculum. The development of virtual microscopy (VM) technology during the past 10 years has called into question the use of the optical microscope in educational contexts. VM allows slide specimens to be digitized, which, in turn, allows the computer to mimic the workings of the light microscope. This move from analog technology (the light microscope) to digital technology (the computer as microscope) is part of the many significant changes going on in education, a singular manifestation of the broader move from print-literate traditions of knowledge (requiring literacy) to an electronics-literate, or "electrate," mode (requiring "electracy"). VM is here used as an exemplar of this broad transition from literacy to electracy, some components of which include data deluge, a multimodal structure, and modularity. Understandably, this transition is important to clarify educationally, especially in a global context mediated via digital means. A related aspect of these educational changes is the move from teacher-directed learning to student-centered learning, or "user-led education," which points to a redefinition of "pedagogy" as "andragogy." The dissemination of the specific value of VM, then, is critical to both learners and teachers and to a more coherent understanding of electracy. A practical consequence of this clarity might be a better application of this knowledge in the evolving fields of computer simulation and telemedicine, areas in which today's medical students will need future expertise.
Authors:
Terrence Maybury; Camile S Farah
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Editorial; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges     Volume:  84     ISSN:  1938-808X     ISO Abbreviation:  -     Publication Date:  2009 Sep 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2009-08-26     Completed Date:  2009-09-28     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8904605     Medline TA:  Acad Med     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1244-9     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM    
Affiliation:
The Virtual Slidebox, University of Queensland School of Dentistry, University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, Australia.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Diffusion of Innovation
Education, Medical, Undergraduate / methods*
Humans
Microscopy*
Models, Educational
Professional Competence
User-Computer Interface*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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