Mission Magazine - Tech+Knowledge = new Traditions <br>in Teaching

Tech+Knowledge = new Traditions
in Teaching

November 2005

by Natalie Gutierrez

Books, classrooms, and pen and paper have been used for centuries by teachers to teach and by students to learn. Thanks to a generous $5 million grant from the SBC Foundation, faculty and staff at the Health Science Center are enhancing those traditional tools and are bringing them to life using the latest technologies.

As the tradition of graduating top-notch health care professionals remains a constant at the Health Science Center, the method to achieve that goal is becoming extraordinary.

Richard Usatine, M.D., professor of family and community medicine and vice chair for predoctoral education and informatics, along with Jerry York, vice president and chief information officer, and John Littlefield, Ph.D., director of academic informatics services, developed the Visualization and Simulation Center at the Health Science Center. The Center serves as the hub of a number of innovative teaching projects, funded by the SBC Foundation, that involve state-of-the-art technologies. Dr. Usatine is the center director.

"The heart of the center is embodied in the idea that the education of health care professionals can be improved by innovations in teaching and learning supported by the newest developments in technology," Dr. Usatine said. "The center supports the application of new visualization and simulation technologies to increase the quality of education and thereby promote higher-quality health services delivery. The SBC Foundation’s generous funding allows us to bring together some of the most creative people from all schools at the university to advance the way we teach. The center is one of the most interdisciplinary ventures at the Health Science Center."

For more information about the Visualization and Simulation Center, visit www.uthscsa.edu/vs.