Creating accessible browser-based interactive content for teaching physiology and pharmacology: options for non-programmers

While interactive software has long been employed to complement traditional lecture and laboratory classes, instructors have typically been limited to pre-made programs produced by others with significant programming experience. Furthermore, many existing programs have limited platform cross-compatibility, with few compatible with the most ubiquitous and accessible device in a typical classroom, the mobile phone. In addition to advances in large language model-assisted programming, there has been a boom in the popularity of HTML5/JavaScript-based videogame development software targeted towards non-programmers. Consequently, there are now tools available that have significantly lowered the barrier to entry with regard to instructors taking creative control over the production of interactive content suitable for their own specific classroom needs. By focusing on the HTML5/JavaScript framework, these applications can be accessed on any device capable of running a browser, making them easy for students to use in the classroom and to integrate effectively into any Learning Management System. Here, we suggest that the use of such tools might prove particularly valuable for instructors of physiology and pharmacology, permitting the creation of interactive content tailored to the instructor’s own teaching style and that better meet the needs of the enrolled students. In doing so, we highlight some of the options available and provide examples of the kinds of applications instructors can produce with these methods.