HUMAN SYSTEMS EXPLORER

(DOCUMENTARY)

Creation of the Human Systems Explorer

Though each Human Systems Explorer diagram is attractive and functional, this graceful simplicity belies a rigorous development process that can take hundreds of hours per module. That process is led by Dr. Michael Parker, who crafts each diagram from initial concept through design and programming to a final product.

Dr. Parker's current work in the world of educational technology for medical students is the outcome of a varied academic and professional background that spans both engineering and medicine. He studied electrical engineering and computer programming at MIT and worked for a time in the software industry before returning to school for his doctoral degree in medicine. He was keen to combine his background in computer science with his new medical knowledge, and began working with professors on material for medical education as a resident at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Dr. Parker's expertise in computer programming and medical science informs his design process for the Human Systems Explorer modules. First, before he decides how best to program a module, he conceptualizes what scientific elements will make the diagram most effective. He sits down one-on-one with a faculty member who has been involved in a particular course for an extended time. They pinpoint areas in the course where students have the most difficulty and then analyze which of those areas would be most amenable to the use of web technology. Dr. Parker will ask questions: How have you taught this concept in the past? What's been most effective for students? He walks away from the meeting armed with a laundry list of resources on the subject and becomes an expert, immersing himself in the subject matter. Then he brainstorms how to translate the concept onto the screen. He says he does his best to "inhabit the confusion" that plagues the students; by doing that, he's able to imagine unique visuals to clarify the concepts.

Faculty members serve as resources for Dr. Parker throughout the design process. Dr. Richard Schwartzstein, a professor at the medical school, says that sometimes when he and Dr. Parker go to textbooks for elements that they want to use to inform the diagrams, the textbooks will not infrequently either contain errors or be limited in their depth, and they'll have to search out primary data in other medical literature. Dr. David Roberts, who has also assisted in the project, says that if he's giving a lecture and a student asks a question that stumps him, he'll often bring that back to Dr. Parker. Together they can figure out if there's a way to incorporate it into a diagram. Dr. Schwartzstein says that one of the keys is that the process ensures that every single element in each diagram is as accurate as possible. They never want a student to walk away from a diagram with misconceptions.