Learning
about Learning Objects with Learning Objects
Sandy Mills
AliveTek,
Inc.
The term "Learning Object" has been getting a bit of attention in the world of online education lately. There are many definitions out there, but because text is used as the medium, the true meaning is often missed. This paper has been written to further define the term, and to serve as a complement to an interactive session that will allow participants the opportunity to investigate various learning objects. Since learning objects are usually designed for active learning, this interactive session will allow for participants to see, hear, and interact with learning objects of varying educational levels and subjects. Samples will include objects created with Flash, Director, Shockwave, and interactive databases. Issues such as developmental skill level, funding and organizing learning objects will be discussed. Resources include some of the latest research on learning objects, as well as URL's for online repositories that can be shared with teachers from around the globe.
What is a learning object?
A learning object, for all practical purposes, is an object or set of resources that can be used for facilitating intended learning outcomes, and can be extracted and reused in other learning environments. Often called "Reusable Learning Objects," (RLO's) or "Educational Objects," the term has been recently associated with electronic learning resources that can be shared in multiple learning environments. For example, a Flash animation that labels the parts of the human respiratory system, could be used in an online course for EMS professionals, in a PowerPoint for nursing students, or perhaps in a CD-ROM for Anatomy and Physiology students.
1. DESIGNED TO BE INSTRUCTIONAL
Learning Objects vs. Informational Objects: Sometimes the term learning object is used interchangeably with the term "information object." This author believes that while learning objects are information objects, they are differentiated by their intent and design. The intent of a learning object's designer is to facilitate learning, while information objects are designed to be a reference, and not necessarily for the purpose of retaining skills or concepts by the user. Often learning objects incorporate assessment, while information objects do not. A web page that describes characteristics of various breeds of dogs is informational. If the same website provides a learning activity that allows the learner to match the descriptions with the appropriate photos and gives feedback for incorrect attempts, then it was built with the intention of giving the learner opportunities to reinforce the recognition of various breeds, providing an environment that is much more conducive to learning.
Active Learning Objects vs. Passive Learning Objects: If an object engages the learner then it's easier to differentiate between a learning object and an information object. However, active learning is not the only indicator. Some objects are instructional in design, and do not require active participation from the user. For example, a bulleted list of symptoms of diabetes might be intended as a study aid for nursing students. Because the students know that the information will be on the test, they will consciously attempt to memorize the symptoms. It just is a passive learning object, with intended learning outcomes. If the intent is to inform, then it is an informational object. If the intent is to facilitate learning, then it is a learning object.
Skills, Concepts, and Processes vs. Textbooks, Websites, and Courses: While discussions continue around how small or how large a learning object can be, most agree that the acceptable size of a learning object is determined by the amount of information that can be digested by a learner at the time the learning is occurring. For example, an entire textbook or course cannot be fully absorbed by a normal learner in one sitting. Therefore, a textbook contains too much information to be labeled as a single learning object. Most agree that concepts, competencies and skills make for good learning object guides, and can set the parameters for the size, or amount of information that is packed into a learning object. While websites are often referenced as learning objects, the purpose must be instructional and the content should be presented in manageable chunks for the learner.
2. DESIGNED TO BE EXTRACTABLE
Another condition of a learning object is that the item must be extractable or "stand-alone." It really should possess the ability to be plucked from one learning environment and placed into another. As learning objects are designed by institutions, it helps to pool together resources from various departments, schools and universities to build learning objects that can be shared, or cross-referenced. If a learning object is designed to be course or instructor specific, it may lose some of its ability to be taken out of one learning environment and used in another. Taking an object out of its contextual environment is one way to see if it can stand alone, independent of a course or instructor.Often a web-based learning activity may involve a web page, an animation, and a form of assessment, for example. Bundling the elements that comprise the entire learning activity can make it extractable, or stand-alone, greatly enhancing the possibilities of appropriate environments where it could be used. A learning object that introduces a concept, shows examples, and then allows for practice or assessment, will have much more flexibility than a learning object that simply quizzes a learner. Often this "packaging" can be achieved with the use of development tools such as Flash, Director/Shockwave, java applets, dhtml, Toolbook, Authorware, screen capture programs and other presentation and web development software.
3. DESIGNED TO BE REUSABLE
If an item is able to stand alone, then it has a much greater chance of being reusable. In order for learning objects to be reusable, they must be shared across learning environments and accessed on demand by instructors and learners. This means that students can practice skills and repeat learning activities until they fully grasp the content. This also means that instructors can borrow each others' materials, giving each learning object exponential power as the numbers of learners accessing the item grow.
Currently there are initiatives for building the technical specifications that will allow for the universal sharing of learning objects. ADL (Advanced Distributed Learning) is an organization that provides a discussion forum for educational software developers and course management systems to share their ideas for universally identifying and storing learning objects, and has developed SCORM (Shareable Content Object Reference Model) as a reference guide for developers to follow when building digital libraries and objects. The National Science Foundation has a program dedicated to supporting the development of digital libraries (NSDL) and has awarded millions of dollars to research institutions for such development. IMS is a global coalition of educational, commercial and government organizations who are working on a global adoption of specifications for software intended to make learning objects available in multiple system environments. All IMS specifications are publicly accessible and free. Even with all of these technical specification initiatives, there is still a lot of work to be done before a universal standard is completely developed and adopted.
How are
electronic learning objects built?
In a perfect world, learning objects
are designed by instructors, subject matter experts and instructional designers.
The storyboards, or design plans, are then communicated to the multimedia
developers and graphic artists.
During the design process, classroom activities that are built or implemented to facilitate and reinforce learning are storyboarded so they can be transferred into electronic formats. Instructors and instructional designers often identify important concepts that are emphasized during the lecture and create learning activities that can be transferred to the intended electronic medium. For example, Kevin T. Larkin, a Psychology instructor at West Virginia University has his students perform several tasks in class, like snapping their fingers and blinking their eyes, to reinforce the concept of social conformity. While designing an electronic activity for an online course, he storyboarded the actions and envisioned how it might look on the web. In addition, he wrote a script for audio to accompany the activity. The documentation was handed over to a team of instructional technologists, who then communicated the project to the Flash developer and graphic artist. Even though this activity may have more impact when done in the face-to-face environment, students learning from home would still benefit from the activity, and could perform the activity with family or friends, further reinforcing the concept of social conformity.
Let's
see some examples!
One of the most popular repositories of learning
objects is MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online
Teaching). MERLOT was modeled after the NSF funded project, "Authoring Tools and
An Educational Object Economy (EOE)") and has provided free access to learning
resources since 1997. http://www.merlot.org/
Funded from NSF and FIPSE grants, WISC-Online is another learning object repository. This initiative is much more focused on housing learning objects, where MERLOT houses any learning resources, even if they do not fit the mold of learning objects. Included on the WISC-Online site is a free tutorial on learning objects, where they define and describe how learning objects are developed. Instructors may submit their plans for the free development of multimedia learning objects. This site should be explored as the resources and philosophies are very meaningful for those wishing to do more with learning objects.
http://coolgenius.com/ showcases samples of instructional uses of learning objects, and more samples can be found at http://alivetek.com/learningobjects. The United Nations has an educational site where some rather interactive K-12 objects can be found (http://www.cyberschoolbu/). Like many institutions, St. Petersburg College showcases some of their newest technologies on their Instructional Technology website, http://instcomp.spjc.edu/itwebsite/resources/_resources.htm and a few of these resources fall into the learning object category. Searching for the term, "Learning Object" in your favorite web search engine will bring up thousands of hits. Try it and explore, to learn more.
RESOURCES AND REFERENCES
Presentations:
http://www.alivetek.com/resources.php
http://ltsc.ieee.org/ppt/learnobj/index.htm
By:
Claude Ostyn from IEEE
http://adlcolab.uwsa.edu/lo/index.htm
By:
the Academic ADL Co-Lab (AADL), the University of Wisconsin System (UWS), and
Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS)
http://www.etl.techbc.ca/data/0010GuidetoLearningObjects/index.htm
By:
Karen Belfer
http://207.21.225.140/vcollege/AdminOffice/docs/RLOs_ConfDAY_Presentation.pps
by:
Kristi Lozano, Miami-Dade Community College
Resources:
http://www.imsproject.org/
http://www.nsf.gov/
http://www.adlnet.org/
http://www.ieee.org/portal/index.jsp
Repositories or Portals:
http://www.wisc-online.com/
http://www.columbia.edu/~mrs60/examples.html
http://careo.ucalgary.ca/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Repository?theme=commons
Free
Online Courses!
http://www.wisc-online.com/builders/OnlineLearnFaculty.htm
(login
as: developer password: developer)
http://www.scorm.tamucc.edu/
Books
and Articles on Learning Objects
http://www.lolab.com/
http://reusability.org/read/
http://www.newstrolls.com/news/dev/downes/column000523.htm
http://learning.ncsa.uiuc.edu/elearntr/learnobj.html
http://www.learningcircuits.org/mar2000/primer.html
http://www.learningcircuits.org/mar2000/barron.html