Controlling a multimedia CAL network in undergraduate pharmacy education using a courseware management system

Managing an ever increasing range of CAL software is a problem for many edu cators. Our own experience of accessing more than 70 different computer bas ed tutorials under Windows 3.11 led to a confusing display of program group s and icons which undergraduates found difficult to use. To address these p roblems we installed a prototype courseware management system (Caleidoscope ), which prepared structured navigation menus. The manager provided facilit ies for logging the use of each software package (activity) and for prepari ng user profiles for each registered user. The system proved successful as a navigation aid and for acquiring performance data. A survey of undergradu ate users indicated approval and acceptance of the navigation architecture.