United States Distance Learning Association

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easoning as to how they are built, and you even know locations that you can retrieve them from; so now the question is, why use them at all One of the most difficult situations facing the education profession today is the fact that technology has almost created a demand for its usage and students are expecting the same type of technology in their classrooms as they get in everyday life. Music, videos, gaming, text messaging, e-mail—the list goes on and on, and these forms of technology are used every day in today’s society, and the education profession must be prepared to incorporate them into the learning environment. This is especially true in online education. Referring back to our beginning scenario of how online classes were first designed as nothing more than electronic textbooks, we realize that learning object usage will help engage the students and offer them an environment to learn in as opposed to one to learn from. Videos, audio notes, discussion boards, Web logs, and instant messaging can all be incorporated into an online course and will help keep the students engaged. Of course, to do all of this, the instructor must be able to use the technology and will have to use learning objects either that he or she has constructed or that he or she has pulled from a repository or other location. This is where a breakdown or a “choke point” is identified. Educational and training professionals must make time to learn technologies so they can take advantage of where this movement is taking the professions. Administrations must allow staff development time specifically for the technology training needed to enable their faculty and staff to acquire the knowledge and skill sets required to design and develop learning objects. In addition, the educators who grab hold of this movement now will be way ahead of the pack 3 or 4 years down the road when all courses face-to-face and distance are using learning objects as part of the everyday learning experience. On campus courses are becoming more hybridized and Web-enhanced, and are utilizing the same technologies that the online courses are using to deliver the content at a distance. This means that most of the faculty will need to know how to utilize, design, develop, and incorporate learning objects into their everyday lesson plans. Learning objects have become the new training aids of our day. They are a movement unto themselves. The only constant about learning objects is that they will continue to expand and evolve. They will be a part of the educational and training profession for as long as the digital revolution lasts and perhaps longer. For all we know, in the future, we’ll all be using telekinesis to download the information directly from the instructor’s to the student’s brain. Educators, trainers and administrators all need to prepare for the usage and expected involvement of learning objects both on campus and in distance education. The student of tomorrow will expect and demand technology usage in his or her learning experience, and educators and trainers will need to be prepared to meet their demand. That demand will be met by engaging and involving the students through the incorporation and usage of learning objects. REFERENCES Learning Object Metadata. (2005). Retrieved July 20, 2007, from http://ltsc.ieee.org/wg12/ Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching. (2007). Retrieved July 20, 2007, from http://www.merlot.org/merlot/ index.htm Web Based Training Information Center. (2007). Retrieved July 20, 2007, from http://www .webbasedtraining.com/trends_ objects.aspx Wiley, D. (2000). The instructional use of learning objects. Retrieved July 20, 2007, from http://www.reusability.org/read/ Wisconsin Online Resource Center. (2007). Retrieved on July 20, 2007, from http:// www.wisc-online.com/ Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 77
Flexible, easy-to-use visual communication solutions help bring learning to life. Learn what grant options are available for your distance learning program. Request your FREE customized funding analysis — contact grantservices@tandberg.com www.tandberg.com passion 78 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. Solutions to Barriers to D
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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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CONSTITUENCIES IN DISTANCE EDUCATIO
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control and responsibility for the
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Page 58 and 59: tional delivery. The knowledge that
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Page 78 and 79: Learning Objects What Are They, and
Page 80 and 81: Table 1. Goals of Learning Object D
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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United States Distance Learning Association

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