Tutorial Development with Metacard

Tutorial Development with Metacard

 

John T. Silver

University of TN Center for Health Sciences (Memphis)

 

Abstract:

The projects are examples of a development system called Metacard. Metacard was developed on the "UNIX world" as a functional analog of HyperCard, using the stacks and cards objects and XTalk scripting of HyperCard as a starting point. Metacard now runs on several UNIX systems, LINUX, Microsoft Windows and the Macintosh OS. Like HyperCard, Metacard files are stacks which run scripts, but Metacard is a contemporary programming tool, which uses internet standard methods for file handling and communication.

 

My interest in Metacard began when SuperCard, which I had used to develop many Macintosh-based tutorials, failed to develop a Windows version. I evaluated several Hypercard lookalikes and some alternatives, such as Authorware. Metacard proved to be the best tool for me. It is powerful enough to handle material originally contained in large, multi-window SuperCard projects, and it makes cross-platform development simple. This is partly due to the fact that with its UNIX roots, Metacard uses Internet terminology and standards for file handling and graphics, on all platforms.

 

Metacard is not cheap, and its programming tools lack the elegance of Hypercard, but on the balance, it appears to be a valuable new tool for developers of computer-based multimedia instruction.

 

The programs.

They all began life as Macintosh-based HyperCard stacks or SuperCard projects. The slides used in the programs were generally digitized as Photo-CD's and edited in Photoshop. Some of them were converted to

Metacard with automated conversion software. The video segments were digitized using Premier, After Effects, and QuickTime Professional Edition. All were programmed by me, John Silver, DVM, MCS, coordinator of the Multimedia Laboratory at the Health Sciences Library of the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences, at Memphis.

 

1. "Evaluation of the Sexually Abused Child." CD-ROM.

Edited by David Muram,  John Silver, Astrid Heger, and S. Jean Emans.

Dr. Muram is past professor at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Since then he has taught at the University of Tromsų, Tromsų, Norway. Dr. Heger is Executive Director of the LAC/USC Violence Intervention Program, in Los Angeles, California, and Dr. Emans is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Carolyn J. Levitt, Professor at the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota, provided the videos of forensic interviews. The Macintosh version of this program is currently available from Oxford University Press. The CD contains four components: a) An electronic version of the textbook and photo-atlas "Evaluation of the Sexually Abused Child" by Astrid Heger and S. Jean Emans; b) six clinical simulations of pediatric gynecology cases, c) twenty-eight simulated consultations, and d) thirty simulated legal opinions based on clinical cases. The text and cases are illustrated with digital graphics, including movies of actual forensic interviews. The program allows students to save and restore their work in a file. We will be bringing a cross-platform version with the first edition of the book. A second edition of the book is in progress, and Oxford says they will release the cross-platform CD-ROM with that edition.

 

2. "Hematology Slide Review." CD-ROM.

Author: Ann Bell.

This slide atlas includes the slides appropriate for the hematology section of a beginning course in pathophysiology, plus several chapters on advanced topics. Ms Bell is a professor emeritus in the school of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences at Memphis and author of a widely used hematology manual.  Ms Bell has contributed to and reviewed hematology atlases with more global coverage, but she feels that this one a better teaching tool. This program has been used for several years at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and is extremely popular with students. It routinely blows out our logging system.

 

3. "Epidemiology: Investigation of an Outbreak."

Content: Grant Somes and Martin Marks.

Instructional Design: Sunny Hahn.

Dr. Soames is professor and chief of the department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology at the University of Tennessess Center for Health Sciences, Memphis. Dr. Marks is a Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology. He was with the Department of Family Practice of the Medical College of the University of Kentucky at the time the videodisc version of the program was created. This is a simulation of a disease outbreak, appropriate for use in entry-level courses on epidemiology for students in the health sciences. A group of doctors, nurses, and public health workers in a small town investigate a mysterious illness. It was demonstrated at a SOL meeting several years ago in the form of a level three videodisc. The new version is cross-platform with digital video. This past semester, this program was used by nursing students across the country who were taking an internet-based course. The internet couldn't handle the video in the program, so we mailed CD-ROM's to the students.

 

Benefit in Attending Session:

These tutorials showcase several content developers. They were all created with a programming tool called Metacard, which should be of interest to health science authors.

 

 

PRIMARY AUTHOR'S INFORMATION

John T. Silver

University of Tennessee Health Sci. Library

877 Madison, Rm 210

Memphis, TN, 38163

Telephone Number:(901) 448-6817

Fax Number:(901) 448-235

E-mail Address:jsilver@utmem.edu

 

Web Site: http://library.utmem.edu

 

CO-AUTHORS' INFORMATION

Ann Bell, Grant Soames.

David Muram et al.

 

Address(es):

  1. University of Tennesse, Health Science Center, Memphis 38163.
  2. c/o Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Ave, 10016