A Dabney S. Lancaster Community College biology professor has written an innovative physiology textbook that just hit the market last fall.

Dr. Stan Willenbring’s textbook, “Physiology: An Interactive Text” is totally digital, and may be read by downloading a CD or accessing the website. “It’s readable on any device – -computer, tablet, Ipad, or even a smart phone,” says Willenbring.

What’s more, says Willenbring, the cost to students is only $80, compared to similar textbooks, which usually fall in the $200 range. Students may ask for a softcover printed copy of the book at no extra cost. The publisher is National Social Science Press.

Willenbring is using it in his Anatomy and Physiology course (BIO 141-142) for the first time this year; many of his students are in the DSLCC nursing program or are pursuing careers in health care. The book is starting to be looked at and adopted by other schools.

“I wanted to write a book that students could easily understand and use, and stick to the basics,” says Willenbring, who started writing in earnest about three years ago. He found that most physiology books are either written for pre-med students and are too difficult, or are geared for junior high or high school students, and too easy. His goal was to write for community college students taking science courses, but those enrolled at other schools can benefit from his book as well.

Willenbring also wanted a book that would include topics that he likes to cover in class, such as photosynthesis. “It may seem that photosynthesis has nothing to do with human biology; but when a student is studying how a human cell burns a sugar molecule, it helps to understand how that sugar molecule was formed in the first place,” he says. The textbook CD includes videos that Willenbring has produced, as well as links to other web sites and clinical applications, to make the book more practical. He’s also included some information about key clinical topics, such as the dangers of smoking and the effects of stress, good topics for anyone going into the field of health care.

Willenbring has been on the faculty at DSLCC since 2005; he holds a doctorate in physiology from Dartmouth Medical School.

For more information about course offerings at DSLCC, check the web site at www.dslcc.edu<http://www.dslcc.edu> or call DSLCC Student Services at (540) 863-2820.

Submitted by Judy Clark