PCCAL was established in the UK in 1992 and originally comprised of all 16 Schools of Pharmacy in UK Universities. The project was funded by the Teaching and Learning Technology Programme (TLTP).


Map showing the founding members of the PCCAL consortium.

The main objective of the consortium was to exploit the technological advantages of Computer Aided Learning (CAL), so that teaching could be made more efficient and students would have vastly increased access to learning resources. The scope of the project primarily encompassed all pharmacy undergraduate courses, although the multi-disciplinary nature of pharmacy meant that the PCCAL learning materials were also directly relevant to teaching in other disciplines: Within a year or so of the first release of software in July 1993, PCCAL packages were being used in Biological Science Departments, Pharmacology Departments and Chemistry Departments at UK Universities.

The consortium has subsequently expanded both in terms of subject discipline and in terms of the world-wide distribution of members. We have broadened to encompass teaching and learning materials for pharmaceutical and life sciences, rather than just pharmacy. This includes disciplines such as the medical and biological sciences, physiology, pharmacology, chemistry, nursing and health care. International membership now encompasses departments from these disciplines. Altogether, over 60 countries are represented in the consortium.

The PCCAL courseware has been developed using two main development tools - Authorware Professional for Windows, and Caleidoscope for Windows. The content covers the following areas:

  • CAL packages intended for individual use, for example revisional aids, packages providing background and further details for lecture courses.
  • Remedial CAL programs for the reinforcement of basic essential information, aiming to even out differences in knowledge and understanding that inevitably arise at the start of courses.
  • Courseware supporting aspects of pharmaceutical science which can be used as aids in tutorial or workshop classes, for example courseware with a numerical content.
  • Simulations of laboratory and practical experiments which are at present restricted on financial, practical or ethical grounds.
  • Learning materials relating to professional aspects of pharmaceutical and life sciences.
World-wide, we have distributed over 2500 PCCAL software products to some 300 academic departments, and we are now distributing an increasing amount of courseware from other projects. The PCCAL software has been used in a variety of ways, providing workshops and tutorials, background and backup material to lecture courses and as a means to assess students' performances in particular areas. The popularity and quality of packages reflect the use that PCCAL makes of its resources: An international pool of academic experts are available, who can advise on academic content of packages and provide the most up to date information. We also have available a large pool of students and staff who can provide feedback on presentation and content throughout a package's development.

The project has won two awards for its courseware - ( Double First for Pharmacy Consortium ). To date PCCAL has produced around 50 different CAL packages. The packages are made up of more than 300 separate modules or activities and represent around 200 hours of student centred learning.

Joining PCCAL International

The PCCAL Consortium aims:

  • To encourage the development and use of CAL in pharmaceutical and life sciences
  • To assist in the development of agreed software and hardware standards to enable the transfer of CAL packages to different sites
  • To disseminate information about the production of CAL packages and help avoid duplication of effort
  • To assist in the translation of CAL packages into different languages
  • To assist in the adaptation of CAL packages to meet local needs
  • To provide a wide basis for evaluation of CAL packages

Membership of the international consortium provides the following benefits:
  • Contact with other academics worldwide interested in CAL in the pharmaceutical and life sciences
  • News and information about CAL in the pharmaceutical and life sciences (Biannual Newsletter)
  • Provision of Templates for producing CAL packages
  • Assistance in obtaining funds for software and hardware for CAL

If you would like further information about International PCCAL please contact us.