Abstract:

Higher education institutions are becoming aware of the increasing diversity among their students and the need to adapt to better respond to the students’ preferences in terms of learning modalities. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) (CAST, 2018) is a guide to enhance the design of courses and learning environments to support an inclusive approach as well as flexibility in the modalities of course delivery. Interactive technology has also gained recognition for supporting inclusive education and fostering greater student engagement toward learning abstract and complex content. Human anatomy education is one of the fields that have embraced interactive technologies by incorporating game-based learning and 3D interactive platforms into teaching strategies even prior to the pandemic (2018; Xiao & Evans, 2022). As such, anatomy education also takes advantage of the affordances offered by interactive technologies in engaging learners on new multi-sensory levels (Pellerin, 2018) and aligning with inclusive teaching approaches following the UDL framework guidelines.

The pandemic accelerated the adoption of hybrid approaches and the use of interactive and immersive technologies in higher education. This paper presents the ongoing process of developing a 3D human anatomy learning environment through an iterative design methodology that involves a continuous cycle of prototyping, testing, and making adjustments and refinements (Enginess, 2018). Three learning scenarios describing how visual and auditory information travel in the brain were first developed in a 2D version that was replaced by a 3D interactive model as suggested by students in the feedback they provided after using the application as a learning tool in their human anatomy course. Additional scenarios are being added as per the students’ request. During the pandemic, the 3D anatomy application was used for online learning and contributed to the adoption of hybrid approaches for teaching and learning human anatomy. Moreover, a new immersive VR version has been developed and has yet to be tested with students. The paper will also discuss the crucial role of the voice of the students and their sense of agency in the process of creating an inclusive learning environment that allows multiple means of representation, interaction, and engagement related to their learning.

References:
[1] Enginess. (2018, April 20). What is Iterative Design? (and Why You Should Use It)
[2] Pellerin, M. (2018). Affordances of new mobile technologies: Promoting learner agency, autonomy, and self-regulated learning. Journal of Interactive Learning Research 29(3), 335-350.
[3] Xiao, J., & Evans, D. (2022). Anatomy education beyond the Covid-19 pandemic: A changing

Keywords:

3D, human anatomy, virtual reality, iterative design, students voice, UDL, inclusive approach.