In order to promote more active engagement of science undergraduates in histology practical classes some technology-based innovations were introduced. First, an interactive pre-lab tutorial was set up using an electronic handset voting system, where guidance on tissue analysis was given. Second, a web-based resource where students could access photomicrographs of tissues, practice formative assessment tasks and review the information from the pre-lab was produced. When the impact of the innovations was evaluated. Both were received very favourably by the students and they improved the general perceptions of the course. In both the pre-lab and web resource it was emphasised to the students that they should make sketches of the photomicrographs. Our hypothesis was that drawing would strongly enhance the students' engagement with the practical material and that they would observe the photomicrographs more thoroughly if they drew them. This idea was confirmed as the students who drew achieved significantly higher scores (p-values in all cases less than 0.05) in their subsequent practical assessments. In 2004, for example, their percentage scores exceeded those of the students who did not draw by between 5.9% and 18.6%. Drawing was always a part of histological courses in the past and our study illustrates that, although introducing new technology may be beneficial, traditional teaching methods should not be rejected without careful consideration. (Contains 5 figures and 3 tables.)