POTCASTING- AROUSING THE ANATOMY ARCHIVES

Raymond Macharia*, Brian Cox, Kim Whittlestone, and Nick Short; Royal Veterinary College, University of London, NW1 0TU. U.K.

Purpose: Many of the world universities have archives and museums full of useful specimens and rare collections but which are not readily available to students due to their delicate nature or lack of labelling to identify specific parts. We have utilised podcasting technologies to capture 3D images and transmitting them in all forms of mobile devices and computers without altering the nature or structure of specimens.

METHODS:Museum pots are selected and videoed with a voice-over and edited using adobe premiere software. The short podcasts have coloured areas added to identify the structures that are described on the audio. The podcast are then converted to WMV and MP4 and uploaded onto a streaming server from where one can download them onto a MP3/MP4 player, iPod or laptop. Students can walk into the museum with their mobile devices and study specific museum pots or even revise out of the campus.

RESULTS:There has been unprecedented and overwhelming interest in the use of podcast by veterinary students. The podcast has become a unique tool to recapture old teaching materials that have been preserved over the decades at a time when there is a deliberate scaling down of use of animal derived material or cadavers for research and teaching.

CONCLUSION: Podcast is an essential 21^st century tool to enhance good teaching and learning in higher institutions. Podcast images reinforce and allow greater retention of information.