Osmosis Program (OP) is a CAL application presented to ASCILITE (Fyfe, 1992, Fyfe 1993) and has been widely used in health science courses at Curtin University. OP was used and assessed in the veterinary preclinical course at Massey University this year.
Access to suitable computers was restricted, so a group of 24 students completed the OP whilst another group of 37 students completed a conventional practical based on red blood cell membrane dynamics. An assessment provided information on the following: computer experience, prior expectations, ease of use, information level, likes and dislikes. The majority found the OP enjoyable and easy to use. They thought the information level appropriate and considered that the CAL effectively replaced the wet-lab. They believed the "hands-on" aspect of the lab did not justify the time spent in obtaining the data. Formal performance assessment was by MCQ. No unexplained differences were found in student performance between the two groups.
