Overview

The Digital Frog 2 is intended to replace, or, at the least, add significantly to the experience of actual frog dissection in high school laboratories. It contains three modules - a dissection module that simulates an entire dissection, an anatomy module that serves as a reference tool, and an ecological section with information about the frog's life cycle, behavior, diversity, and habitat. Dissection is simulated by drawing "cuts" with the mouse and then watching video clips of an actual dissection with a voice-over description.

How Long Did It Take to Learn to Use It Productively?

A few minutes. The menu is a little hard to find, but once found, one can easily jump back and forth between different sections of the software. The package guides one through each step of the dissection, and the other modules are straightforward.

Product Quality

Ease of installation

Digital Frog 2 requires Apple QuickTime 3.0, which is also on the CD and must be installed first. Installation on the Macintosh was trivial. Installation was more complex on the laptop, where QuickTime conflicted with a previous installation of Adobe Acrobat that included QuickTime 4, and at one point simply hung with no explanation. However, after the conflicts were removed, the installation was straightforward.

Customizability

This program is intended as a teaching tool, not for development. However, a teacher can "bookmark" certain sections for a future presentation.

Ability to Program in Scripts, Add Extension Modules, etc.

"Bookmarked" pages can be replayed as a slide show for a lecture.

Ability to Import and Export in Different File Formats

The graphics or text files can be captured for use in handouts, overheads, tests, or workbooks. Workbook files are provided in Word 6, RTF, Pagemaker, and PDF formats on the CD, thus allowing modification and printing from almost any text-processing program.

Useful or Unusual Features

The centerpiece of the package is the dissection module, with which the user can simulate the entire dissection of a frog. The user must follow a logical plan for the dissection - first identification of external followed by internal parts, and then dissection of the overlying organs before the lower ones. One manipulates a "digital scalpel" to make the cuts, after which a video clip demonstrates the actual incisions and the procedure. Clicking on any organ connects one to the corresponding anatomy screen, which has more information about the organ and its substructures. The anatomy screens, in turn, have further links to comparisons with human anatomy, or animations of blood flow.

The environmental module includes basic ecological information and sound and video clips of frogs native to North and South America.

Limitations

On-screen dissection is not really comparable to the experience of actual dissection. One cannot get a sense of the thickness of skin and muscle or the size and delicacy of blood vessels through such a simulation. The digital scalpel, while it will be entertaining for high-school students, is more similar to a computer drawing program than an actual cut. It is too easy to make a bad cut and then redo it, giving one no feeling for the potential damage one could do with a real frog. This may slightly limit its value as a practice tool for real dissection.

Comparisons with Similar Software

I have not come across any other packages that attempt to teach or replace dissection. The Digital Frog 2, while it cannot substitute for an actual dissection, could be a good preparatory tool. For squeamish students or for those who are morally opposed to dissection, it will serve as a useful alternative. The other modules in the sofware are well designed and could stand alone as information sources. The quality of the videos and images is excellent, and comparable to most encyclopedias.

Software such as Digital Frog 2 has great potential to reduce the number of creatures used in teaching laboratories. In the future development of this package, however, I hope the software will require more user interaction during the dissection procedure.

Technical Support and Documentation

The online installation help was of no use for my particular installation problem, but the support staff responded promptly to email. The online help for the actual package was quite useful. The Web site contains some troubleshooting information, as well as a downloadable executable for PCs without a sound card. The workbooks that come with the educational version are excellent, and they include diagrams and test questions on each organ system.

Target Users

High-school students are the most obvious target group, as the level of information is quite well suited to them. Students in advanced biology will probably find the program too elementary, but they may take advantage of the dissection practice. Some students faced with pithing a live frog will undoubtedly prefer this program. Even those who cheerfully dissect away can use this to plan their dissection. In contrast to a real frog, Digital Frog 2 allows unlimited repetition and exploration, and one can safely take breaks during dissection to refresh one's knowledge.