Computer-assisted learning materials and the practice of biotechnology

Abstract

CAL materials, designed to provide experience in decision-making, are being used to bridge the gap between theory and practice in the field of biotechnology Computer-assisted learning materials, designed to provide experience in decision-making in the methodologies of biotechnology, are described and their use in higher education is discussed. The programs, developed using Authorware Professional, are set in an industrial environment, the user being given a realistic problem to solve, objective to achieve or process to develop. They simulate the practical problems and decisions that need to be addressed in planning, setting up, and carrying out research and development experiments and production processes. Each program has an extensive library that includes basic concepts, experimental techniques, data, and units. While the programs do not replace the need to learn manipulative skills and practise them in the laboratory, they do provide experience in what experiments to do in the laboratory, what data to collect, and how to process it, all in a fraction of the time that would be taken in the actual laboratory. In so doing they challenge the students' understanding of the subject and help to bridge the gap between theory and practice.