ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the use of computers as an aid to teaching and learning. Most of the examples are drawn from the experience of computer assisted learning (CAL) at the Open University. The decision to provide CAL at all in distance education may seem strange, but one of the prime motivations for at least some of the CAL at the Open University was to provide students with some additional support and feedback on their work additional that is to the limited face to face tuition and comments on assignments submitted to tutors. For CAL to be an integrated part of the course, its use needs to be considered early on in the production cycle, and the CAL programs developed alongside other course materials. Nevertheless, the outcome has been that most of the CAL was in fact produced by members of the Academic Computing Service.
