Computer assisted learning in higher education in the Netherlands : a review of findings

This article reports some of the major results of a national survey on the use of computer assisted learning (CAL) in Dutch higher education in 1991. As a response to a call for participation, descriptions of 442 different CAL programs that were used in Dutch higher education were received. Most popular usage is in mathematics and sciences, medicine and engineering. The most popular forms of CAL are simulations followed by tutorial applications. In the sciences, emphasis is on simulation, whereas for economics and law, tutorials are most popular, and in humanities we find a large number of drills. It is also remarkable to find a high percentage of combinations of drills and simulations in economics and medicine. There is a greater trend towards providing the learner with more self-control. This reflects the general trend in instructional design to put more responsibility in the hands of the learner (as in the ‘constructivist approach’). General programming languages and authoring languages are used in about the same proportion as development tools, but simulations are mostly created through general programming languages, and tutorials with the use of authoring languages. By an overwhelming majority, programs have been developed for MS-DOS environments