Feedback from medical student on an interactive online anatomy practical using the Google Jamboard platform

Objective: The disruption caused by COVID-19 in anatomy education has forced the transition of in-person to online learning. Despite the increasing use of technology-enhanced tools in online classes, anatomy lecturers face significant difficulty in making classes interactive. Hence, this study explored the feasibility of a web-based virtual whiteboard, Google Jamboard (GJ) for two online anatomy practical classes.Methods: This was a qualitative phenomenology study conducted on 116 second-year medical students from two Malaysian public universities via teleconferencing appli-cations that allowed synchronous small-group activities. Each group was given a different link to 10 GJ slides that featured plain anatomy diagrams and instructions for the group task. Upon completion of the tasks, the students presented their tasks to the whole class. An online feed-back form was distributed at the end of the practical session to explore the experience of the students when using the tool.Results: Thematic analysis of student responses gener-ated seven themes that reflected perceived learning ben-efits, challenges faced by the students, and suggestions for future improvement.Conclusions: These findings suggest that GJ is a useful tool for promoting collaborative learning in virtual anatomy education. Nevertheless, the impact of this tool on the attainment of learning outcomes remains un-known. Hence, more widescale research is needed to confirm our findings.

Automated summary

This study investigates the feasibility of using the web-based virtual whiteboard, Google Jamboard (GJ), for online anatomy practical classes. The findings suggest that GJ is a useful tool for promoting collaborative learning in virtual anatomy education, but more research is needed to determine its impact on learning outcomes.