How to Get Your Students to Use Visible Body’s Study Tools

Posted on 9/19/25 by Sarah Boudreau

Visible Body is best known for its comprehensive library of 3D life sciences models, but its study tools also help students nail vocabulary and think outside the box.  

“That’s nice,” you might be thinking to yourself. “But how can I convince my students to use these features when they’re studying outside of class?” 

As educators around the world will tell you, the only surefire way to get your students to do something is to assign it for credit. In this blog post, we’ll look at three assignments and activities that will show your students how to use Visible Body’s tools, giving them the nudge they might need to study with them on their own.

flashcard-in-car

Flashcards on the go with the VB Suite mobile app.
 

Create a Custom Flashcard Deck 

VB Suite is Visible Body’s one-stop shop for 3D life sciences content, while  Courseware allows instructors to leverage those assets in assignments and quizzes. Students with an active Courseware subscription have access to VB Suite and its mobile app, which gives them the ability to create their own custom Flashcard Decks, in addition to using premade Decks. Once they have saved Decks to their accounts, students can access them on desktop or mobile devices! 

Here's a Flashcard Deck assignment idea, based on this bony landmarks assignment designed by Visible Body Customer Success Specialist and A&P instructor Jenn Smulligan. 

Start with instructions on how to use and create Flashcard Decks—you can share this video walkthrough or this article. Next, give your students a list of requirements, such as:  

  • The Deck must contain 15+ cards. 
  • The Deck must show 30+ structures. 
  • The Deck must focus on the current unit (i.e., the urinary system). 
  • You must write your own Flashcard prompts. (If you want, you can also allow your students to use the automatic ID feature to create a prompt.) 

Flashcard Decks are designed to be shared, which makes it easy for students to turn in their assignment. Students simply need to copy their Deck’s share link and paste it into Courseware or another LMS. The instructor will then copy and paste that link into VB Suite to access the Deck.  

bony-landmark-flashcards

Flashcard Deck in VB Suite. 

 
Become a Tour Guide 

Tours in VB Suite are interactive presentations made up of custom 3D views. Instructors typically use Tours as lecture aids. However, creating a Tour is a great way for students to think critically about the subject matter, because they allow students to take on the role of teacher as they present information. 

phineas-gage-case-study-tour

Example of a Tour in VB Suite. 

Here’s an example assignment that asks students to create a Tour focused on the types of bones. You can adapt the text to fit whatever your students are studying at the moment, and, just like Flashcards, Tours are easy to share. 
 

Types of Bones Assignment 

Create a Tour in Visible Body Suite that presents two examples of each type of bone: flat, long, short, sesamoid, and irregular. Tours are a collection of views, which are like slides in a presentation. 

For this assignment, you will:  

  • Create a tour with ten different views; include two bones for each of the five types of bones. 
  • Add a label to the bone. 
  • Using the notepad, write which type of bone it is. 
  • Name your Tour "[Your name] Types of Bones.” 
  • Paste a link to your Tour here to turn it in. 

Quiz Yourself 

So far, we’ve covered two assignments students can complete outside of class, but here’s an in-class activity that uses the built-in practice quizzes in VB Suite.  

Ask students to get into small groups or pairs and open VB Suite. Students can access the quizzes in VB Suite on practically any device, including phones and tablets—if you have an interactive panel, like a ClearTouch or Anatomage Table, this is a great use for it! 

cleartouch-quiz-kidneyQuizzing on a ClearTouch panel using VB Suite. 

Students can click on the Study tab and find the desired quiz, or they can type a keyword into the Search tab and scroll down to the Quizzes section. 

Students will work through the quiz (or multiple quizzes) together. Teamwork can help struggling students learn, and for students who already know the answers, working together can help reinforce information.  

This activity is a great way to start class, refresh your students’ memories, and get them prepared to build on their existing knowledge.

More Ways to Use Visible Body 

Interested in more creative uses for Visible Body? Check out these blog posts! 

 

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