Learning object

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Contents

1 Definition 2 What is a learning object ? 3 Content-based e-learning objects o 3.1 Size o 3.2 E-learning objects vs any teaching materials o 3.3 Formal definition of (e-)learning objects 4 Pedagogical design and learning objects 5 Learning Objects Repositories 6 Assessment of learning objects 7 Links 8 References o 8.1 Standards and Manuals o 8.2 Tutorials
o

8.3 Papers

Definition
Learning object is a controversial concept. The learning object remains an ill-defined concept, despite numerous and extensive discussion in the literature. (Churchill, 2007:479). At a very general level, a learning object could be defined as a pedagogical resource (including tools). In the main-stream "old school" e-learning literature, there is some kind of agreement, i.e. one can find definitions like:

Small (relative to the size of an entire course) instructional components that can be reused a number of times in different learning contexts. "digital entities deliverable over the internet" (Wiley, 2000, p.3) Learning objects are supposed to be reusable learning objects (RLO)

See also: the learning object repository article and the list of learning objects repositories

There are other definitions in other subfields of educational technology. E.g. Oren Zuckerman (2006, in preparation) defines a constructionist learning object as specifically designed to promote learning through hands-on interaction. These are popular materials in early childhood education, at school and at home. See the constructionist learning object article. More recent approaches to technology-enhanced learning like learning design, CSCL script rather focus on the concept of reusable pedagogical scenarios. Finally, generative learning objects may represent some kind of compromise between the contentcentered "learning object approach" and more activity/scenario/cognitive tool-oriented approaches. We suggest the following very global definition: A learning object is a resource. This definition is not very operational, but at least compatible with learning design models that usually distinguish between resources (of various sorts), services (tools) and learning activities (scenarios) as the building blocks for educational designs. Tools may of course include learning objects. E.g. a wiki is a tool, but its entries may play the role of learning objects. Also, student productions may become learning learning objects and that idea goes beyond student projections of contents. E.g. in some CSCL models, communication becomes substance and therefore an object one can learn from. In conclusion, as a social scientist, I'd say that learning object should be defined by their function with respect to a given set of similar instructional design models. A global definition doesn't make sense. Daniel K. Schneider 09:58, 21 April 2009 (UTC).

What is a learning object ?

It appears unlikely that any of existing definitions can serve to align communities with diverse perspectives (e.g. traditionalist and constructivist educators, or instructional product designers and school teachers as learning designers) around any common understanding leading to advancement in education and learning outcomes through technology integration. (Churchill, 2007:480). Instead of a single detailed definition, Churchill (2007:484) defines a learning object as a learning object is a representation designed to afford uses in different educational contexts. He then proposes a typology of several kinds of learning objects which then could be defined in more precise terms: Presentation object Direct instruction and presentation resources designed with the intention to transmit specific subject matter. E.g. simple e-learning presentations as defined in the IMS Content Packaging framework Practice object Drill and practice with feedback, educational game or representation that allows practice and learning of certain procedures Simulation object Representation of some real-life system or process Conceptual model Representation of a key concept or related concepts of subject matter

Information object Display of information organized and represented with modalities Contextual representation Data displayed as it emerges from represented authentic scenario

Content-based e-learning objects

Size
The purpose of learning objects and their reality seem to be at odds with one another. On the one hand, the smaller designers create their learning objects, the more reusable those objects will be. On the other hand, the smaller learning objects are, the more likely it is that only humans will be able to assemble them into meaningful instruction. From the traditional instruction point of view, the higher-level reusability of small objects does not scale well to large numbers of students (i.e., it requires teachers or instructional designers to intervene), meaning that the supposed economic advantage of reusable learning objects has evaporated. (D. Wiley also at edtechpost) Another version of this reusability paradox can be found on the connexions web site, retrieved 17:42, 16 August 2007 (MEST) Because humans make meaning by connecting new information to that which they already know, the meaningfulness of educational content is a function of its context. As the module's context is further elaborated and made more explicit, a learner working with the module has an easier time understanding how this information relates to what they already know. The more context a learning object has, the more (and the more easily) a learner can learn from it. To an instructional designer, learning object "reuse" means placing a learning object in a context other than that for which it was designed. The fit of learning objects into these new contexts depends on the extent to which the learning object's internals contain explicit statements of context. For example, statements within a learning object like "as you will recall from the last module..." make it very difficult to reuse the learning object in a context other than that for which it was designed. To make learning objects maximally reusable, learning objects should contain as little context as possible. According to Hodgins (2000) as described in MODWiki, the hierarchy of modular content can be divided into 5 levels: Raw Content

The most fine-granular level consists of raw media elements including media types like text, audio, illustration, animation and others.

Reusable Information Object

From raw media elements, information objects are formed. They describe a certain procedure, process or structure, define a concept, present a fact, or provide an overview on some subject.

Reusable Learning Object

The third aggregation layer combines information objects circumscribed by a learning objective. The objects at this level are called learning objects.

Lesson

The fourth layer groups learning objects around a more encompassing outcome or terminal objective to create aggregates like lessons, chapters, learning units etc.

Course

The top layer includes collections of lower level aggregate assemblies to form thematic courses, books, stories or whole movies.

Hodkins-Autodesk Content Strategy Building Block Model View In the A Short Course on Structured Course Development, Learning Objects, and ELearning Standards we can find the following diagram that illustrates the relationship between context and reusability (adapted from Hodgins, 2002 ??).

Context VS Reusability according to Hodgins/Short course on Structured Course Development, Learning Objects, and E-Learning Standards Krull and Mallinson, also based on Hodgins made this slide that expresses the same principle, however this time the learning object in the narrow sense is somewhere in the middle of the hierarchy.

Modular Content Hierarchy - Hodgins seen by PPT of Krull & Mallinson

E-learning objects vs any teaching materials

Most commonly used learning objects are teaching materials that can be found in teachercentered repositories. There are several categories, e.g.

Simple Contents for learners (e.g. Web Pages, Word documents) Multimedia presentations and multimedia animations Interactive learning software (e.g. interactive multimedia) Microworlds

However, it is debatable whether these are learning objects in a more strict sense. Clearly some of these are not just "raw contents", but non-standardized reusable contents at any level of granularity.

Gerry Paille defines the characteristics of Learning Objects in a more narrow sense as follows:

Learning objects are digital Learning objects can be stored in a database or repository Learning objects can be described using a metadata standard or specification Learning objects are discoverable through searching a database Learning objects are interoperable in that they are independent of hardware, operating system and browser type Learning objects tend to be, but are not necessarily, small or granular in nature Learning objects tend to be, but are not necessarily, disassociated from context Learning objects are reusable Learning objects can be repurposed for different educational contexts Learning objects have an explicit educational purpose

Daniel K. Schneider thinks that in the world of e-learning, learning objects mostly refer to a set of interactive web pages, in particular standards-based IMS Content Packaging that can be imported into a LMS. The SCORM 2004 3rd Edition Overview (p 1-6) defines "ilities," that should characterize a learning objects "economy":

Accessibility: The ability to locate and access instructional components from one remote location and deliver them to many other locations. Adaptability: The ability to tailor instruction to individual and organizational needs. Affordability: The ability to increase efficiency and productivity by reducing the time and costs involved in delivering instruction. Durability: The ability to withstand technology evolution and changes without costly redesign, reconfiguration or recoding. Interoperability: The ability to take instructional components developed in one location with one set of tools or platform and use them in another location with a different set of tools or platform. Reusability: The flexibility to incorporate instructional components in multiple applications and contexts.

See also:

educational modelling languages e.g. other IMS standards like the IMS Simple Sequencing or IMS Learning Design that deal with the sequencing part of a learning object metadata standards to describe objects or its components

Formal definition of (e-)learning objects

See the standards article for an overview and the Learning object standard article for a technical overview table

See educational modeling languages and IMS Content Packaging for the most important faces of pedagogical e-learning standards.

Pedagogical design and learning objects

Learning objects play different roles in given instructional design models / pedagogic strategies. Ip and Morrison (2001) argue that one should clearly distinguish three main types of educational technology uses cases and that emphasize different kinds of resources:

Learn from a computer (CBT, e-instruction, etc.): Learning objects, i.e. learning objects in a narrow sense. Learn with a computer (cognitive tool, writing-to-learn, etc.): Software tools Learn via a computer (CSCL, etc.): Communication (peer learners) Resources are specifically designed for educational use

Pedagogical Design

Nature of the resources Test or drill items, (may be structured to meet interoperability standards such as IMS QTI)

Need special rendering software

Tutorial, Drill and Practice

Yes directly or indirectly. Some learning objects may have Yes embedded content and some may not. No - cases are normally hardcopy but online cases can include video but hard-wired Yes to the learning scenario (see GBL)

Case Study Method

Teaching cases

Stories, or video clips, provided mainly No Yes ondemand Learning by The requirement for an No Yes designing artifact A scenario & No, but the environment itself Web-based role- associated design of Scenario etc: yes, may be a specialist engine (Ip & play, simulation the role play, Resources: no Linser, 1999) simulation resources Distributed Problem for solving problem based No Yes during the learning learning Critical incident- Opportunities for No No based computer learning - incidence supported Goal-based learning

learning Yes, most componentbased approaches to creating rulebased simulation will have Yes embedded content in the components which roughly map to learning objects in this paper

Rule-based simulation

Embedded in the software

Structured content to work with some tools, Cognitive tool N/A N/A generic tools may not need any content Search tool and resource Resource-based discovery mechanism, e.g. in Learning Resources No the form of support from subject Environment gateways Table 1: Use of Resources in Different Pedagogical Design (Albert Ip and Iain Morrison,2001)

Learning Objects Repositories

In the case of digital learning resources, there are many problems to be overcome before we can expect widespread reuse and sharing. Learning tends to be highly contextual, and context is not as easy to disseminate as data alone. (Learning ) See the learning object repository article and the list of Learning objects repositories

Assessment of learning objects

Assessment is a weak area in this wiki, but see for example Learning Object Review Instrument (LORI)

Links
Introductions and overview

Learning Objects, MODWiki http://www.reusability.org/read/ (on line book) Learning Objects Get R.E.A.L. -- Relevant Effective Adaptive Learning, Wayne Hodgins PPT Talk. Let's take some action Short piece by Albert Ip.

Web sites

learningobjects.org (Portal with advice, good links Krull & Mallinsonfor articles, etc.) Learning Object Research Portal (under construction since 2005, but you will find good links to articles)

Journals

Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects (formerly the Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects) is an open content academically peer refereed Journal.

References
Standards and Manuals

Advanced Distributed Learning (2006): SCORM 2004 3rd Edition Overview Version 1.0, Available from http://www.adlnet.gov/.

Tutorials

A Short Course on Structured Course Development, Learning Objects, and ELearning Standards Gerry Paille

Papers

Churchill, Daniel (2007). Towards a useful classification of learning objects, Educational Technology Research and Development, 55 (5). http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11423-006-9000-y Ip, Albert, Iain Morrison and Mike Currie (2001). What is a learning object, technically?, WebNet2001 conference, Orlando, USA. PDF Ip, Albert and Iain Morrison (2001), Learning Objects in Different Pedagogical Paradigms, ASCILITE 2001. PDF Ip, A.; A. Young, I. Morrison (2002) Learning Objects - Whose are they? Proceedings of the 15th Annual Conference of the National Advisory Committee on Computing Qualifications ISBN 0-473-08747-2, 315-320, PDF Hodgins, H. W. (2000). The future of learning objects. In D. A. Wiley (Ed.), The Instructional Use of Learning Objects. WORD Reprint Hodgins, Wayne (2002). The future of learning objects, Proc. of the 2002 eTEE Conference, August 2002, pp. 76-82. PDF (full proceedings, retrieved 16:55, 30 May 2007 (MEST))

Wiley, David A. (2000). Connecting learning objects to instructional design theory: A definition, a metaphor, and a taxonomy. In D.A. Wiley (Ed.). The Instructional Use of Learning Objects [on-line]. Available: [1]. Wiley, Gibbons, & Recker. (2000). A reformulation of the issue of learning object granularity and its implications for the design of learning objects PDF Wiley, D., & Edwards, E. (2002). Online self-organizing social systems: The decentralized future of online learning. PDF, retrieved 15:41, 11 October 2007 (MEST). Wiley, D. A. (2002). Connecting learning objects to instructional design theory: A definition, a metaphor, and a taxonomy. In D. Wiley (Ed.), The Instructional Use of Learning Objects. Bloomington: Association for Educational Communications and Technology. Wiley, D. (Ed.) (2002), The Instructional Use of Learning Objects. Bloomington: Association for Educational Communications and Technology. Online version. Available at http://www.reusability.org/read/ Williams, Roy (2003) Context, Content and Commodities: e-Learning Objects, Electronic Journal of e-Learning (EJEL) 2 (2). Abstract (PDF/HTML open access)

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