In this article from the trenches of Royal Roads University and the Centre for Economic Development and Applied Research, the author provides a real-world picture of how one institution actually decided to implement and use "E-learning objects (ELOs) based on templates and using a particular course editing tool." After noting the difficulty of defining these new learning objects, Muzio provides a brief history of how RUU and CEDAR became involved in the ELO world, pointing out that "CEDAR's work has garnered international interest and awards."

Many features of the article make it a good reading for a general audience. First, it is written fairly clearly and requires minimal acquaintance with the technology under discussion. Second, it provides concrete examples that illustrate the creation of ELOs (the on-line version of the article provides links to ELOs that allow the reader to actually practice creating his or her own ELO based on CEDAR's template and course editing tools). Third, it touches on multiple aspects of creating ELOs, i.e., areas of concern to the summit such as standards and property rights.

Muzio conveys CEDAR's commitment to IMS standards and the need to retroactively fit metadata tags once a final standard for XML tags has emerged. The author describes how they are working to resolve issues about intellectual property rights by creating "sharable" data-bases (free-to-use materials); setting guidelines about manipulating original ELOs and preserving them; and exploring how object creators may be compensated for use of intellectual property when accessed from an external environment. The author also notes CEDAR's concern and attention to questions about size and granularity. Pedagogically, CEDAR's commitment to following sound instructional design in creating ELOs for quality learning outcomes is given careful treatment. Sketching the significance of instructional theory to the activities of subject matter specialists, they propose the use of Bloom's taxonomy for the cognitive domain of creating ELOs: "This encourages developers to check that they are developing content that encompasses higher order thinking as well as merely knowing or understanding ideas and concepts." Tools that have been used by expert skilled multimedia designers are referenced within this part of the article.

This article reflects the careful thinking of CEDAR ELO developers and concludes that a medium should be used for learning purposes because it is the best medium for that particular learning need: "Good instructional design is more important than the specific technology."

For the full text, see http://www.cedarlearning.com/CL/elo/eLearningObjects_sml.pdf

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