Those of us who started teaching before technology took hold had some hard lessons to teach. Talking about most of the human body was not correct. ( sex) and then to explain the systems. What a job! What was allowed, and what permission did we have?
This is the Me Too Era… there are more resources and perhaps extended permission. We think in new ways about teaching about the human body.
My friend Delores Davis had each child to use brown wrapping paper in large sizes to make a body. The systems we were allowed to teach were then carefully draw and attached to the brown paper ” body”. And we learned to take a pulse , measure height and weight ,to talk about nutrition.
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I taught from the inside out. I loved using skeletons of small animals that were dis-articulated to have students think about their skeletal structure. Of course I did it around Halloween. One year my brother, who was studying to be a physician brought a whole skeleton to the study.
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I had a cat, skeleton, a rabbit skeleton, a snake skeleton and a mounted chicken skeleton.
The bones were in boxes and we had a blue velvet sort of box to make the display.
Reading about the human body does not tell you much. A nurse could come in and talk.
The Red Cross helped us with some little charts to teach about the circulatory system.
And there was a lung that smoked to show children the effects of smoking.
INTERACTIVE DISPLAYS
The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia has a walk through heart. There is also an exhibit
that goes to communities for the study of the heart.
Museums did a great visualization job in sharing the body systems.
Now there is online BioDigital, and there are many other iterations of ways to study and learn about the human body. You have to establish an account to take a look but it does not cost anything.
The BioDigital Human visualizes anatomy, disease and treatments in interactive 3D.
Some question the use of VR because it requires different teaching strategies. Here is an article that shares those concerns.
Common Sense has reviewed and commented on applications for K-12.
Best Anatomy Apps and Websites for Students
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https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/best-anatomy-apps-and-websites-for-students
For younger students ( 3-8) There is Tiny Bop ! It is an app.
Immune Defense
Immune Defense is a strategy game for big kids and grown ups (ages 10+). Players use various types of white blood cells to fight off real pathogens, using real surface molecules and signaling molecules. More information about Immune Defense here.
Available for PC, Mac and Linux computers. The video is here.
SEX EDUCATION?
Harvard takes us to new levels with this curriculum in sex education. (from the article)
“Sex education in America is still often taught as abstinence-only, despite decades of research showing that this approach results in higher teen pregnancy rates and STDs. Absent a more complete sex education — or any at all — children often learn from peers, siblings, or the internet, Brown tells EdCast, opening the way for misinformation and a lack of understanding of what is and isn’t appropriate when it comes to respect in sexual relationships. Students need to be prepared for the world we live in and become part of a broader conversation about “communication, intimacy, desire, and healthy relationships,” Brown says.”
Although the federal government has moved to reduce access to intervention tools such as sex education, there’s also some good news: Many states, fueled by the #MeToo movement, are taking initiative to make change, Brown says. “#MeToo is the catalyst for better consent and sex ed in schools and states around the country,” she says, citing Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, and Maryland as states that have updated laws to include consent.
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/18/12/state-sex-education#.XDe-v4oh1bg.twitter
Welcome to the future.
The Future of Education
Teaching and learning have gone beyond the norms of reading from a book. With the Virtual Reality technology, students are able to better understand concepts at a much profound level.
The Power of Us 