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TEXT SIXTEEN The animaldissection requirement of biology classes has been getting under the skin of studentsfor generations, and there have always been some who asked to be excused fromthe requirement. Now, a growing number of technological alternatives are makingit possible for students to swap that scalpel for a computer mouse. There arelaws in nearly a dozen states-including California, Florida, New Jersey, andNew York-protecting a students choice to learn about animal anatomy sans scalpel. Some studentschoosing to opt out feel we should be kinder to our web-footed friends. Othersare just queasy at the thought of rubbery frog bodies and the smell offormaldehyde. Dissectionis icky. Theres a yuck factor, admits Brian Shmaefsky, a board member with theNational Association of Biology Teachers. And a teacher has to weigh thebenefits with the cost of students being offended to the point that itinterferes with learning. Virtualblades. So for cases in which a real dissection would be too slimy, its time to try some toad tech.While the first computer-based alternatives to dissection emerged in the 1980s,modern frog dissection software can be found at different websites. Thesesoftware programs use creative clicking, high-powered zoom functions, and videoclips to teach anatomy. Froguts software, for example, lets students traceincision lines with a computer mouse and snip through skin with a virtualblade. There are even sound effects like a slish for slicing frogflesh, or a shwoosh for pinning down skin flaps. | 
