James Saley, The Visualization Design Institute of Sheridan College, Oakville, and Hallie Groves, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

The Visualization Design Institute of Sheridan College and McMaster University are developing a master plan to tackle the organization and implementation of new media to support problem-based learning at McMaster. One component in this database is the "learning module", the application of powerful new media to support the learning of complex subject matter.

To prototype the idea, we worked closely with McMaster's Anatomy Lab to create a 3-D animation of the Brachial Plexus. Experience indicated that students had difficulty understanding the interaction of the plexus.

We will demonstrate and describe:

• Proof of concept, using Flash with Internet Explorer
  
• 3-D medical animations based in Maya
  
• Porting to the Viewpoint Media Player for real-time, on-line 3D viewing
  
• Issues regarding moving media between different programs
  
• Interaction of medical and visualization experts
  
• Future developments including motion capture driven inverse kinematics

• People attending this talk will become more familiar with the concept of moving complex animations from concept to Internet. Our implementation is cutting edge.
• We offer a look into how complex ideas can be translated in visual representations (visualizations) to ease the learning tasks of students.
• Attendees can have a look at one university's approach to organizing media, new and old, for easier access to the student population.
• We will demonstrate a construct for relationship between visualizers and medical experts.

James Saley - Visualization Research Associate Sheridan College
Visualization Design Institute
SCAET building, 4th floor
1430 Trafalger Rd.
Oakville, ON
Canada L6H 2L1
Phone: 905-845-9430 x 8702
Fax: 905-815-4220
Email: james.saley@sheridanc.on.ca

CO-AUTHORS:
Dr. Hallie Groves M., B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph. D. Director, Education Programme in Anatomy Associate Professor
Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine
McMaster University
Faculty of Health Sciences
Department of Pathology & Molecular Medicine Human Anatomy Lab
1200 Main St. W.
Hamilton, ON
Canada
L8N 3Z5
Phone: (905) 525-9140 X 22423
Fax: 1-905-525-7400
Email: grovesh@mcmaster.ca
Website: www.mcmaster.ca