Biology Students use Virtual Lab for Dissecting

biology students began dissecting cats this year, a few of them became so squeamish that they could not get near the dead animal. That's when their teacher offered them an option: a virtual dissection. "Slowly, they got more comfortable with the idea," said the biology instructor at the New Horizons Governor's School for Science and Technology in Hampton.

"Now they've all

switched and are all doing the real cat dissection. " Virtual dissection programs are becoming more common in high school classrooms. Nationally, there is a big push among science teachers to use these programs as an

alternative. In the long run, online programs cut down the cost of dissections and solve some of the ethical issues some students have. Virtual

dissection programs are also giving Ribeiro's class an experience still rare in high school classrooms. Through a free, online teaching program called

Net Anatomy www.netanatomy.com ,students like 16-year-old Valerie

Acre can study the human body - without touching it or being shocked by its actual presence - through computer clicks that help her locate veins, arteries, organs and other parts.

Source: Daily Press