1. Introduction

The Pharmacy Consortium for Computer Aided Learning (PCCAL) was originally funded by the Higher Education Funding Council as part of Phase 1 of the Teaching and Learning Technologies Programme (TLTP). The team, based at several centres within the United Kingdom began courseware development on 1st January 1993 and had released over 35 titles by December 1995. All titles are subject-specific, stand- alone packages which cover a wide range of teaching requirements, including remedial programs to even out differences between students, professional and legal aspects of pharmacy and simulations of pharmacological experiments on animal tissues. The primary aim of the project was to assist and improve undergraduate teaching in UK schools of pharmacy and to co-ordinate efforts carried out in different schools to minimise duplication and maximise interchange of software developed to a common standard. PCCAL is now working towards self financing and is operating on an international basis. Although originally called the Pharmacy Consortium for Computer Aided Learning (PCCAL), the range of materials has now been extended beyond the Pharmacy disciplines and the new name - Computer Aided Learning for the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences reflects this broader range of titles. All packages in the portfolio have a consistent interface, modular structure and paging model and have all been developed according to guidelines devised by the project manager and agreed by all members of the consortium, using a prototyping approach. An evaluation system was initially devised by the developers to ascertain preliminary views from students and staff concerning accessibility, ease of use and general opinions on package features. However, this system took no account of learning objectives or outcomes and was aimed solely at evaluating courseware design and usability. In order to further develop this evaluation and examine whether the courseware is an effective learning resource, an in-depth evaluation study was established.