TIPS -June 1983

ous Marine Animals of the World, Darwin Press 7 Nigrelli, R. F. (ed.) (1960)Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci.

90, 615-950 8 Russell, F. E. (1971) Marine Toxins and Ven-

omous and Poisonous Marine Animals, "IVH Publicauons, Academic Press, London

9 Shipley, J. T. (1945) Dicaonary of Word Or/g/ns, Philosophical Library, New York

Computer Club The world o f pharmacology computing

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10 Wasson, R G. (1979) m Ethnopharmacologic Search ]:or Psychoactive Drugs (Efron, D. H., Holmstedt, B and Kline, N .S . , eds), pp. 405,-.414, Raven Press, New York

@ Computers in pharmacology teaching The use of computers in teaching phar- macology is an immediately attractive proposition. It requires the acquisition of familiarity with an 'in' technology, it holds the prospect of a reduced teaching load and it provides some'body' to blame when students fail to learn!

Benefits Computer-aided teaching allows stu-

dents to work at times convenient to them and to proceed through material at their own rate; features particularly useful to pharmacology students who may have very different educational backgrounds, time- tables and abilities. Material can be pro- vided for small groups; those with poor mathematics or only elementary biology, for example. Students can repeat teaching material as often as necessary to acquire understanding without using staff time. Finally, students enjoy learning through a computer which is relatively anonymous, and more timid students take the risk of making answers without embarrassment or inhibition.

effective teaching through a VDU. The student also has to ~ and acquire new skills. Facts tend to be diluted and repeated in a verbal delivery while a very concise style is used in computer-aided teaching to reduce the number of words on the screen. Many large computers use involved proce- dures to obtain access to teaching material. Some students feel that it is pointless to acquire these new skills unless a substantial amount of teaching material is available. Barriers to the initial use oftbe system must be minimal; once familiar with the proce- dures students use the system freely but the initial step into unfamiliar ground must be as easy as possible.

Problems Teachers developing computer-aided

programs will discover that it is surprisingly difficult to write concise, easily understood material and present it in an interesting and absorbable manner on a video-display unit (VDU). The lecture can be enlivened with an anecdote or gesture; a story which takes only moments to tell and revives flagging interest may occupy several screens-full of text and then seem very unfunny. The lec- turer can respond to the mood of the class and though an assessment of the mood of a VDU user can be attempted (by measuring reading speed, response latency and error frequency), such assessments lack sophis- tication and are uncertain.

A teacher using a VDU as an information channel must learn to communicate in a new way, as the skills employed in a lecture are not necessarily those which make for

sary restraints on students' conceptions or curiosity. Thus, in my guinea-pig ileum simulation, it is possible to 'add' a great variety of agonists in any concentration or sequence and in the presence or absence of a variety of antagonists, again, at any con- centration. The interactions must be quan- titatively correct and enable, for example, p,M values to be obtained as well as 'unknown' agents to be characterized. These simulations increase understanding in a variety of fields and, like the practical experiments they emulate, do not simply allow a student to learn the characteristics of the preparation being used.

Types of program Simulations Where biological systems can be defined by mathematical relationships a simulation can greatly increase a student's understand- ing. The absorption, distribution, metabol- ism and excretion of drugs are very amen- able to this treatment. Colour graphics pro- duce impressive illustrations through which students obtain insight into the inter- dependence of these processes in biological systems and their relevance to successful drug use.

My own experience has been with simu- lations of simple isolated tissues, but more complex systems would be interesting, e.g. the cardiovascular system. Simulations should never replace practical experience, but, used in conjunction with practicals, they extend students' knowledge and experience. Should an experiment fail, mock data may be obtained from a simula- tion and then processed in the normal way. Correct experimental designs and the inclu- sion of appropriate control experiments may be limited by time constraints in prac- tical classes but can be given more promi- nence in simulations as responses are obtained quickly and antagonists removed easily.

Simulations should not place unueces-

Programmed learning Large lumps of text are difficult to read, absorb and manipulate on a VDU. Such presentations are better made on printed sheets and understanding can then be aided or examined by the computer.

Many systems based on text present& tion start with questions which establish the existing level of knowledge. At some point along the main line of questions the user gives an incorrect answer and is then deflected into a loop in which questions and text information attempt to teach the mis- sing knowledge. The loop returns the stu- dent to the main line of questions to which correct responses should now be given; if not, a second, more extensive loop should exist. Loops may exist within loops and these programs are complex, permit no deviation from the path mapped by the teacher and often fail to anticipate all pos- sibilities; hence the well-used message 'I am a small computer and cannot explain more clearly - consult your lecturer' and other, more forthright, comments.

Simple question and answer This by-passes many complexities referred to above; any format of multiple choice question (MCQ) is possible although I have chosen to use the 'stem and five comple- tions'. The question is presented, the an- swer to each completion is elicited and then marked. Knowledge of the correct answers may enable the student to appreciate any error, but an explanation of the answers is

© 1983 Elsewef Science Pubhshers B.V , ~ 0165 - 6147/83/$01130

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available. With over 1 000 questions it seems unnecessary to distinguish between those available through the system and those used in examinations. Indeed, the system could be used for examinations pro- vided that the information fed to the VDU is known to be from one student and not from a group of friends!

Concluding comments Early in my experience of computer-

aided teaching the hardware was in short supply and students would share a VDU, arguing among themselves, thus sharpen- ing each other. When equipment was plen-

tiful, VDUs were used on a one-to-one basis; it is worthwhile to restrict availability of VDUs so the interaction between students is not lost.

One of the difficulties with computer- aided learning is to discover what has already been done and by whom. A large investment of time is necessary to develop computer-aided teaching material (my MCQ question system contains over 100 000 words) and it seems a pity to restrict the benefits to one institution. Copyright and payment may become prob- lems but, in the UK, audio-visual material is available on a person-to-person basis

T I P S - J u n e 1983

without difficulty or great expense. Short deseriptions of available programs could perhaps become a regular feature of TIPS. We will all simply have to learn to live with the biggest problem, compatibility of teach- ing program and computer. If the program you want was written for a Systime VAX 11780 and you wish to use a Sinclair ZX81 there is likely to be, to use traditional British understatement, some difficulty!

IAN HUGHES

Department of Pharmacology, Worsley Medical and Dental Building, Umversity of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, Yorkshtre, UK.

Receptor terminology I hope that the plea of Ullrich Trendelen- burg 'for a uniform terminology for words ending with . . .ergic' (TIPS, February 1983) will give rise to a fruitful discussion about 'ergic' and 'ceptor' nomenclature. I fully agree with Trendelenburg concerning the ending'ergic'. Receptors cannot'act' by releasing neurotransmitters, as . . .ergic nerve terminals do. Thus, the term

'adrenergic receptors' denotes receptors which do not exist. On the other hand, the acceptance of the term 'adrenoceptor' to which an 'adrenergic receptor can easily be converted' (Trendelenburg) makes me unhappy. The ending 'ceptor' is at least curious and the term 'adrenoceptor' does not seem to be better than'adrenergic recep- tor'. Moreover, further propagation of decapitated receptors may lead to odd terms. 'Dopaminoceptors' has already

appeared in the literature and it will be a nightmare when 'GABAceptors' and 'mus- carinoceptors' make their d6buts. Since the prefix 'adreno' has been widely accepted, I should like to make a plea for rehabilitation of the maltreated adrenoreceptors.

ATHINEOS PHILIPPU

lnstitut fiir Pharmakodynamik und Toxikologie der Universitat lnnsbruck, lnnrain 52, A-6020 lnnsbruck, Austria.