HistoNFC: An Innovative Tool for the Practical Teaching of Histology Using NFC Technology

Despite the development of mobile device technology over recent years, its application in the field of teaching has not yet had a parallel development. For the past two decades teaching subjects such as histology has undergone a change in the digital use of its content and didactic methods based on Web applications, e-learning portals, etc., in which the use of high definition images enables the substitution of the light microscope for a virtual microscope. This paper describes a mobile device solution based on the use of Near Field Communication technology for supporting teaching in medical histology. The didactic contents are managed in a database which stores information and images corresponding to the histological slides that are handed out to students in the glass slides for their analysis under a microscope. By associating a single NFC chip to each glass slide and touching this chip with a smartphone, students are given access to all the multimedia information related to the histological slides, without needing a mobile device. The system developed, called HistoNFC, enables access to this information at any moment, as well as the follow-up to the didactic activity and student evaluation. Evaluation of the system has been carried out by histology students of medical degree at the University of Cordoba, assessing aspects of the assisted-learning process as well as technologies, and the results obtained have been very favorable for both, as can be seen in detail in this study.