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| NMC Learning Object Initiative |
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A Primer on Learning Objects Warren Longmire In this paper, excerpted from Informania's Learning Without Limits, Volume 3, Longmire discusses some of the challenges and opportunities faced by developers of "object-based" learning content. The opportunities listed center around the idea that adding layers or capability to learning objects adds value to them because they can be reused and thus provide a higher return on investment. He provides short explanations of how flexibility, ease of updates, searches, and contents, customization, and interoperability, and facilitation of competency-based learning add value to learning objects when industry wide-standards are implemented and adopted. Pointing out the link between object content and meta-data tags, he notes that the "most desirable tools [for authoring and meta-tagging] will permit scalable contextualization so that learners can control the extent to which the context is presented with context" (p. 3). After citing a list of an "RLO's" (Reusable Learning Object) ideal attributes, he comments on related challenges and opportunities. The last part of the paper looks at the creation of "context."
Recognizing the need for some context to avoid confusion, error,
and complete loss of meaning, Longmire asks how context can be scalable
in expanse and type, so that the learner can decide how much is
needed. Pointing to constructivist theories about individual meaning-making,
he provides a sketch of some approaches content developers might
adopt: tailored wrappers, tailored context frames, adding context
links to objects, and pattern templates. He concludes by observing
the need to combine "thoughtful planning with intelligent deployment
of advanced authoring tools…" |