Essentials of Physiology
Page 7 of 19
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Scope of the Essentials


When the CAI R&D Group was first formed, we had long debates as to the nature of the learning resource we wished to create. We all agreed that we did not wish to create just another textbook. Rather, this learning resource should be innovative and make appropriate use of all the capabilities of personal computers. We defined appropriate use as providing capabilities that were educationally sound; i.e., features we felt aided in the educational process rather than including features simply because we had the capability of providing them. We realized that to be effective, all students must have unlimited access to our completed application. Therefore, we would only use technology that could be delivered on a personal computer without the need for specialized plug-in boards or connection to peripheral devices, such as laser disk players, etc.

Another area of unanimous agreement was that the application should provide the students with sufficient material for them to learn Physiology at the level of proficiency that we expect of first year medical students, no more and no less. The authors of this application have had many years of experience in the classroom and have honed their lectures, laboratories, and conferences to include what they consider to be essential for an adequate understanding of Physiology. This is not to say that we all agree upon what is necessary and sufficient; each faculty member has the academic freedom to make that determination and the editor has not tried to influence this personal decision. However, the goal of the authors was to include only the Essentials, hence the name of the completed resource.

During the development of the application, we realized that one of the useful capabilities of a hyperlinked resource was that footnote material could be provided through the activation of hotwords in the text. These hotwords do not distract from the normal development of the topic, yet help satisfy the students need for Information on Demand and Information Just In Time. We have used this capability to provide supplemental material (both remedial and advanced) when we thought it was appropriate. We hope to expand the extent of this material in the second edition.