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Learning Objects What Are They, and Why Should We Use Them in Distance Education Robert Keown Imagine yourself as a student sitting in a classroom. The instructor is walking around the room reading from a textbook and interjecting occasional lecture items. On occasion the instructor stops to ask a question or two just to make sure everyone is listening. Once the questions are answered and the instructor is satisfied, the reading and lecturing continues. You are counting the holes in the ceiling and fighting to keep your eyelids open as you watch the clock tick round and round at a snail’s pace. Robert Keown, Director of Online Learning, East Central Technical College, 667 Perry House Rd., Fitzgerald, GA 31750. Telephone: (229) 468-2022. E-mail: rkeown@eastcentraltech.edu Unfortunately, this type of scenario happens across the educational world every day. Now imagine the same classroom, but instead of reading from a textbook and lecturing, the instructor introduces some short video and audio clips dealing with the content. Instead of asking questions the instructor has you log in to a Webbased extension of the course and allows you to select 5 of 10 questions posted and requests that you develop responses to them for class discussion. The instructor then lectures for several minutes and starts a question-and-answer session discussing all of the questions that were posed in the online course extension. Lastly, the instructor challenges you and the entire class to log in to the Internet and find material dealing with the subject matter and gives a set time to be prepared to present and discuss to the whole class what you find. Unfortunately, again, this scenario does not happen very often; however, technology and student interaction are becoming more and more integrated into the traditional classroom setting everyday. In the first scenario described, the material was being delivered in a very boring manner. Students were not being challenged, and no involvement was occurring. Basically, the instructor was trying to hand-feed the students and allowing them to just sit and listen with little or no expectations of demonstrating what they were learning. This type of classroom setting gears itself more to the convenience of the instructor as opposed to being student Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 73
centered and engaging the students. The second scenario fully engages the students with various media and delivery methods. Students are given the opportunity to control some of the learning environment by having the choice of what questions to answer. They are also engaged in the learning by not only having to do the research but by having to present their findings. Both scenarios have an instructor overseeing the learning experience. The difference is what the instructor chooses to use or not use in the delivery of the content. This holds true in face-to-face as well as online learning. The problems with lack of student interaction and strict adherence to textbook learning are compounded even more in the world of online learning Online courses and online delivery of training have become widely accepted in the educational and training realm. One major problem is that we have too many scenarios like the first, where instructors post text for the students to read and then answer questions and then read some more. This sets the stage for a very boring and uneventful learning experience. Most times, this type of course becomes nothing but a glorified electronic textbook. Students are not challenged or engaged in the learning process. They are basically instructed to read a text block and answer a few questions, and then read another text block and answer a few questions, and on and on. They become robot learners with no control over their learning experience. The introduction and use of learning objects has enabled the online environment to become and feel more like the second scenario described. Instructors design and develop their courses utilizing learning objects to enhance the learning experience. Students are given the opportunity to view videos or hear audio clips; they use electronic workbooks that give them instant feedback. They experiment with simulations, view working models of the human anatomy, and even take virtual tours around the world. The Internet becomes a tool. It becomes an open source of information for the students as well as the instructor. In an online class, students are encouraged to use technology and to cross-talk and share their thoughts and research information that pertains to the subject matter. This environment stimulates learning and engages the students. It differs from a face-to-face environment only in the sense that students don’t actually have the physical contact, but they seem to communicate more through e- mails and discussion boards; and with the use of learning objects, they are able to feel involved. So exactly what is a learning object There have been several definitions offered by various individuals and organizations. The Learning Technology Standards Committee (LTSC) of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), which was formed in 1996 to help develop and promote instructional technology standards identifies learning objects in this manner: Learning objects are defined here as any entity, digital or non-digital, which can be used, re-used or referenced during technology supported learning. Examples of technology-supported learning include computer-based training systems, interactive learning environments, intelligent computer-aided instruction systems, distance learning systems, and collaborative learning environments. Examples of Learning Objects include multimedia content, instructional content, learning objectives, instructional software and software tools, and persons, organizations, or events referenced during technology supported learning. (Learning Object Metadata, 2005 ) This broad description does not exclude anything. If it can be delivered via technology, then it is a learning object, according to the LTSC. But the simplest and purest definition of a learning object is offered by Wiley. He classifies a learning object as “any digital resource that can be reused to 74 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4
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DISTANCE LEARNING FEATURED ARTICLES
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DISTANCE LEARNING MAGAZINE SPONSORE
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SPOTLIGHT ARTICLE Barriers and the
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THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW ECONOMY A de
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Table 4. Rank Order of the 10 Facto
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ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVE STRATEGI
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Table 5. Continued Social Interacti
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management. In L. Lau (Ed.) Distanc
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compensation, incentives and releas
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Pedagogy --Course Development --Cou
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Quality in Distance Education A Tri
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ability to understand and apply tec
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Page 32 and 33: Kirtley, K. E. (2002). A study of s
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Page 48 and 49: students. Fourth, a program that in
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Page 80 and 81: Table 1. Goals of Learning Object D
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Page 84 and 85: INTERVIEW The Perils and Promise of
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Page 92 and 93: INTERVIEW Here Come the Marines! An
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Page 98 and 99: Ends and Means Developing a Digital
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Page 102 and 103: New Media, New Learning School for
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