Communication and Information Technology in the Skills Curriculum: a case study of an existing course and its relevance to a post-Dearing era

AS a pragmatic contribution to discussion about how skills should he integr ated into the curriculum in the post-Dearing era, this paper draws on exper ience of a course which has been running for two years alongside the modula r degree at the University College of St Mark and St John. It considers how computer-assisted learning (CAL) can be integrated into a skills curriculu m for undergraduates. ft argues that CAL can serve the dual purpose of prov iding a flexible approach to developing a range of skills and supporting th e development of competence in information technology The judicious selecti on of appropriate CAL materials from a range of sources, carefully programm ed into the student experience, is shown to be an appropriate learning stra tegy for a skills curriculum. Finally, it argues that without the developme nt of supportive IT strategies, skills-oriented courses are threatened by r esource constraints.