Ruiz, J. G., Cook, D. A., & Levinson, A. J. (2009). Computer animations in medical education: a critical literature review. Medical Education, 43(9), 838-846. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2923.2009.03429.x
As the title suggests, this article analyses the current literature on computer animation as a tool to help teach medical students. The article “aims to illustrate potential applications of animations in medical education, to identify evidence-based principles for their design and use, and to propose an agenda for future research.” The researchers looked through articles from several databases including MEDLINE, PsychINFO, and EMBASE. The majority of these were originally studies that compared computer animations with other teaching tools, both computer-based and non-computer based. They found that the effectiveness of animations as a teaching tool varies widely, depending on the subject being taught, the type of animation, and the students’ previous knowledge on the subject. Because of the nature of the article, the bibliography is quite extensive: they reference 80 different sources, from almost as many different journals. Thus, to some degree, this paper is only as reliable as the sources upon which it is based. However, based on the origin of the sources, and after looking through a number of them, I think it safe to assume that this is article is quite a reliable source of information on this topic. Also, it presents both sides of the argument, namely that animation can sometimes be useful as a teaching tool, but other times it has been found to actually hinder learning. Overall, this article is very useful when doing research about the effectiveness of animation as a teaching tool, medical or otherwise. The bibliography was especially helpful and led me to numerous other articles on the subject. That being said, if the goal is to find new research on the topic, this article will not help.
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