153 - A Novel Digital Flashcard Tool: Exploring Students' Perceptions

Poster Board Number: 153
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Co-authors:

Kyle Rarey, Ph.D. - Professor, Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Florida; Sara Weitzel - Associate Director, Educational Technologies, University of Florida; Danielle Snyder - Medical Student, College of Medicine, University of Florida; Ian Griffin - Medical Student, University of Florida

Abstract Body : Health professional students studying gross anatomy have access to various digital study tools. In transitioning from traditional study methods to the digital era, flashcards have become a favorable study tool among students. Popular digital flashcard platforms, such as Anki and Quizlet, support the principles of active recall and spaced repetition. Within the context of a gross anatomy course, flashcards containing cadaveric images can enhance the visual skills required for identifying anatomical structures. This study explores student perceptions of implementing a cadaver-based digital flashcard program to aid in learning anatomical structures in gross anatomy.




The educational technologies department at our institution developed a password-protected digital flashcard website available to first-year medical, dental, and physician assistant students. Cadaveric images from our institution’s gross anatomy laboratory were securely captured and transformed into digital flashcards. Only students enrolled in gross anatomy at our university can access the flashcard website remotely via a personal phone, tablet, or computer. A mixed methods Qualtrics survey was distributed to students to gather perceptions on this novel study tool. The survey asked students to answer Likert-scale and open-ended questions related to flashcard use in preparation for a laboratory practical assessment.




A total of sixty-five survey responses were gathered from medical and physician assistant students. Descriptive quantitative data demonstrates that 100% (65/65) of students reported that using the anatomy flashcards aided in learning anatomical structures, while 98.4% (64/65) agreed that the flashcards helped prepare them for their practical exam. The open-ended responses were coded, and themes were generated. When asked how the flashcards contributed to anatomy content retention, students reported enjoying the self-testing nature of the tool. They commented on the benefits of active learning and receiving immediate feedback. When reporting on suggestions to improve the flashcards, students commented on the sensitivity of the structural borders and requested an increased number of flashcards per unit.




This current research suggests that students actively engage with a novel digital flashcard digital tool. Preliminary data supports using image-based flashcards with active learning components to aid in studying for an anatomy practical exam. This newly constructed resource allows students to remotely engage with anatomy content in preparation for a lab-based cadaver assessment. Future research involves investigating how the flashcard tool impacts anatomy practical scores and how the role of flashcard gamification impacts learning in anatomy.