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We treat reusable learning objects as web-based interactive chunks of e-learning designed to explain a stand-alone learning objective. The fact that the learning object has been broken down to a low level of granularity facilitates its reuse in different learning and teaching situations. In a previous project, for Introductory Programming, at London Met a collaborative team of tutors supported by a multimedia developer and evaluator worked to develop and reuse reusable learning objects across HND, Degree and conversion MSc levels. This initiative produced dramatic improvements in pass rates of up to 27 percent. The same reusable learning objects have been used at Bolton Institute and the University of Ulster. They have also been adapted and reused for a different computer language at the University of Auckland.
For more information, you can view the Introductory Programming RLO here
A repository (in this case) is an electronic library in which learning objects are stored. Learning objects can be retrieved from a repository by a teacher working at a standard desktop PC. An example of a repository is Jorum.
Jorum is a free online repository service for teaching and support staff in UK Further and Higher Education Institutions, helping to build a community for the sharing, reuse and repurposing of learning and teaching materials. If you would like to learn more, you can visit their website here: (External) http://www.jorum.ac.uk/
The subject centre has funded the development of a number of reusable learning objects as part of recent development fund projects. These are freely available for use by the Information and Computer Sciences academic community and can be accessed in our ICS RLO repository .
Other RLOs produced by the
LIMES Project
can be found at the
LIMES Project Learning Resources
page.
To embed e-learning into the curriculum is a term increasingly used by the Higher Education Academy. The Higher Education Academy believe that 'embedding will be achieved where ICT-enabled student learning provides students with opportunities to select tools and resources appropriate to their individual learning needs ... Tutor(s) and other staff should be working in teams to plan, develop and support this student-centred learning environment' . (Higher Education Academy response to the DfES e-learning strategy).
Evaluation is a procedure in which information about the effectiveness of a system is collected with the intention of refining the system through modification. However, Rob Phillips, an Educational Designer from Murdoch University, warns us that "Evaluation is a term that is often used imprecisely, with different meanings in different contexts. For example, evaluation might mean finding out about student perceptions of a university course; it might focus on the suitability of an e-learning product for a teaching purpose, or it might focus on the usability of an e-learning product. In addition, in program evaluation one seeks to provide information to make decisions about an ongoing initiative in public health or education".
Learning objects tend to be defined in a very technical way. Consequently, incorporating appropriate pedagogy (i.e. learning and teaching methods and strategies) into the effective use of learning objects is therefore an important issue.
Structural issues relating to learning objects relates to the choices available when designing for their use. Should the approach be top-down (i.e. develop a big library of learning objects and try and encourage staff and students to use the library) or bottom up (i.e. develop the learning objects with staff and students in a specific learning context)?
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