The VirtualLab: An Easy Interface between Technology and Content

John Ellingsworth and Carolyn Phillips, Department of Pathology

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

ABSTRACT:

The VirtualLab application is an interactive web-based case evaluation tool for students and faculty to use in both small group sessions and individually. Using static images, virtual slides, video, documents, hyperlinks, etc. the VirtualLab allows faculty to include an array of multimedia objects into a single interface for student learning. The application consists of two components: the case creation component, used by faculty, and the learning component, used by students, and students and faculty together.

The application is built upon a SQL server database using server side scripting. This makes for a dynamic and flexible application to which we can add and/or remove components as the need arises.

Once a user has authenticated to the creation component, they have the option to edit an existing case or create a new one from scratch. Faculty have a choice of loading pre-existing images into their case, or to upload their own images (in development). (Hyperlinks, document, and movie files will also be included in the final version.) Each object included within the application can be titled and annotated by the creator of the case, making any case object usable within many different cases. In addition, the annotation for the object can be turned on/off for the final case, allowing the case to be initially presented as an unknown diagnosis. A similar process works for the case description/summary, allowing for a student version with questions but not answers and a faculty version with answers, suggestions for teaching, etc. This feature can also be turned on or off at the creator's discretion. A separate function allows for a print-formatted version of the case to be printed.

All the necessary features for designing a case can be done through the user's browser in an easy to use, intuitive interface. A Java applet allows faculty to create nicely formatted text for each case, an invaluable feature for faculty who are unaccustomed to using HTML. The ability for faculty to create and edit their own cases without the intermediary programmer or Website manager gives them an incentive to create interactive cases that otherwise would not be available.

BENEFIT TO PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING SESSION:

The VirtualLab application consists of two components: the case creation component, used by faculty, and the learning component, used by students, and students and faculty together. All the necessary features for designing a case can be done through the user's browser in an easy to use, intuitive interface. Participants will have the opportunity to create a web based case using the VirtualLab, learn the technical details of this application and how this application can be easily integrated into any course using and creating web based materials for student use

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John Ellingsworth 3450 Hamilton Walk Suite 100 Philadelphia PA 19104 Phone: 215 573-4451 Email: jellings@mail.med.upenn.edu Website: http://cu2k01.med.upenn.edu/virtuallab/index.asp

Carolyn Phillips Dept. of Pathology & Lab Medicine 6.049 Gates Building 3600 Spruce Street Philadelphia PA 19104 Phone: 215 614-1428 Email: phillipc@mail.med.upenn.edu