TEACHING PHYSIOLOGY AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB: ELECTROCHEMISTRY AND ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY ON THE INTERNET
T. M. Dwyer, J. Fleming, J. E. Randall and T. G. Coleman Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson 39216-4505, USA. Students seek active learning experiences that can rapidly impart relevant information in the most convenient way possible. Computer-as...
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Published in | Advances in physiology education Vol. 273; no. 6; p. 2 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
American Physiological Society
01.12.1997
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | T. M. Dwyer, J. Fleming, J. E. Randall and T. G. Coleman
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson 39216-4505, USA.
Students seek active learning experiences that can rapidly impart relevant
information in the most convenient way possible. Computer-assisted
education can now use the resources of the World Wide Web to convey the
important characteristics of events as elemental as the physical properties
of osmotically active particles in the cell and as complex as the nerve
action potential or the integrative behavior of the intact organism. We
have designed laboratory exercises that introduce first-year medical
students to membrane and action potentials, as well as the more complex
example of integrative physiology, using the dynamic properties of computer
simulations. Two specific examples are presented. The first presents the
physical laws that apply to osmotic, chemical, and electrical gradients,
leading to the development of the concept of membrane potentials; this
module concludes with the simulation of the ability of the sodium-potassium
pump to establish chemical gradients and maintain cell volume. The second
module simulates the action potential according to the Hodgkin-Huxley
model, illustrating the concepts of threshold, inactivation, refractory
period, and accommodation. Students can access these resources during the
scheduled laboratories or on their own time via our Web site on the
Internet (http./(/)phys-main.umsmed.edu) by using the World Wide Web
protocol. Accurate version control is possible because one valid, but
easily edited, copy of the labs exists at the Web site. A common graphical
interface is possible through the use of the Hypertext mark-up language.
Platform independence is possible through the logical and arithmetic
calculations inherent to graphical browsers and the Javascript computer
language. The initial success of this program indicates that medical
education can be very effective both by the use of accurate simulations and
by the existence of a universally accessible Internet resource. |
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ISSN: | 1043-4046 0002-9513 1522-1229 2163-5773 |
DOI: | 10.1152/advances.1997.273.6.S2 |