Cloud-based Mobile Platform to Enhance the Learning Experience in Human Anatomy

Abstract

Online courses have become popular nowadays, changing the way different subjects are taught. Both MOOCs and SPOCs present robust solutions for teaching, and even have tools to encourage collaboration. Nevertheless, the tools used do not foster effective collaboration nor can they adequately measure outcomes. On the other hand, multiple applications have emerged in anatomy as a result of the difficulty in accessing cadaveric material, however, these lack the collaborative aspect, and do not provide information on student behavior and learning. Given this, we present a cloud-based mobile platform, as an educational tool strategy, to promote collaboration in teaching for anatomy students and provide data that allows to analyze and improve the learning experience. This solution was developed using agile development methodologies as the central axis. In this study, 29 volunteers were part of the experimental group and another 99 the control group; 2 tests were performed to measure knowledge in specific areas of anatomy. Increases of 0.59 % and 2.98 % were obtained in the test score, in addition, there was a reduction in the standard deviation from 11.434 to 5.216 in the first test, and from 6.623 to 3,514 in the second test, showing improvement in both cases for the experimental group. The results obtained indicate a potential to improve the learning experience when using this type of educational tool.