Learning Objects and Standards
This page provides links to resources that deal with the concepts of learning objects and learning standards.
Articles in date order, most recent first.
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"Here's a non-technical look at evolving e-learning standards, what the standards intend to achieve, the key players involved in developing the standards, and some implications for the future." Ryann Ellis, Learning Circuits, July 2005
Added: 9 July 2005
Reviewer's Note:
A nice overview with particular look at SCORM
Packaging and publishing learning objects: best practice guidelines
"With an increasing number of different learning platforms now in use in compulsory education, the wide adoption of a standard, consistent and technically robust method of exchanging learning content packages between systems is essential to the future growth and success of ICT in education." Becta, January 2005
Added: 16 March 2005
Reviewer's Note:
"The guidelines are aimed at developers who are already involved in the provision of digital learning content, as well as those who would like to get involved. They are not exhaustive by any means, but they do represent a practical guide to help ensure that your content is accessible and interoperable across learning platforms used in education."
"This is an overview of the Sharable Courseware Object Reference Model. It's hard to make technical standards understandable (much less interesting). Nonetheless, here's the cliff notes version of what you need to know about SCORM." Randall House Associates
Added: 6 March 2005
Reviewer's Note:
A quick survey of SCORM
An introduction to AICC, SCORM and ISM (XML)
"This course defines the common e-Learning standards in use today along with outlining the strengths and weaknesses of each standard." ReadyGo, 2004
Added: 5 February 2005
Reviewer's Note:
Looks at the 3 main standards
eLearning and content management: one can help the other
"Organisations considering implementing an eLearning initiative which already have a content management system, might be surprised by how well the two can complement each other." Bret Freeman, Content-Wire, 26 January 2005
Added: 26 January 2005
Reviewer's Note:
The case for using a content management system within e-learning
Learning objects: a practical definition
"Learning objects make it unnecessary to have thousands of iterations of the same teaching point. Metadata makes it possible to select and integrate relevant learning experiences from a relatively small library of learning objects. Reusable learning objects permit lessons to be generated and customized for specific groups or even for individuals. Extensive research and development has led to a vocabulary of specialized terms to define learning objects." Rory McGreal, International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, September 2004
Added: 1 November 2004
Reviewer's Note:
Rory McGreal provides a rationale to relate variations in terminology into a single practical definition of Learning Objects.
Guidelines for authors of learning objects
"Included topics are the range and types of learning objects, pedagogical and design considerations, as well as discussions of standards, metadata, interoperability, and reusability." NMC
Added: 21 May 2004
Reviewer's Note:
Available as a 1.6 Mb downloadable PDF file
Learning object repositories, digital repositories and the reusable life of course content.
"Course management systems have gone mainstream. If your college doesn't have one, it will." Phillip D Long, Syllabus Magazine, May 2004
Added: 3 May 2004
Reviewer's Note:
Includes links to examples of digital repositories
"Given the ongoing diversity of opinions on the defining attributes of Learning Objects, it comes as no surprise that this is reflected in a similarly broad array of mechanisms and facilities designed to harvest, metadescribe, and distribute them for reuse. Though commonly known as Learning Object Repositories, they may also be found designated as Learning Object Libraries , Virtual or Digital Libraries , or even as Referratories ." Graeme Daniel, wwwtools for teachers Newsletter, 3 May 2004
Added: 3 May 2004
Reviewer's Note:
"A Learning Object Repository is a searchable database that houses digital resources and/or metadata that can be reused to mediate learning."
"the available body of Web-based resources is as vast as it is diverse, beyond the capacity of individual educational practitioners to accurately choose the best suite of resources for particular learning outcomes - they simply don't have the time to preview everything on offer. The problem is digital, and requires a digital solution: enter the concept of Learning Objects, fuzzy though it may still be, and ideas on how they may most effectively be delivered to learners." Graeme Daniel, wwwtools for teachers Newsletter, 18 April 2004
Added: 19 April 2004
Reviewer's Note:
A collection of links and resources about learning objects.
Standards: Do we really need them?
"I have decided to write this article because I became gradually interested with online collaboration technologies and with their ability and potential to influence and shape the kind of future we are going to be living in." Luigi Canali De Rossi, Robin Good, December 2003
Added: 30 December 2003
Reviewer's Note:
The issues around standards
Shareable Content Objects (SCORM): Whole course design and implementation issues
"As rich-media e-Learning increasingly becomes the educational resource of choice, specifications like SCORM become increasingly important. Yet we are only beginning to identify best practices to support the different contexts in which people learn. This wide-ranging article shares the author's experiences and research with Sharable Content Objects (SCOs) and the issues that SCOs raise" Joel McKinney, eLearning Developers Journal, 22 December 2003
Added: 30 December 2003
Reviewer's Note:
You will need to register with the eLearning Guild to access this article
"The area of learning standards is one of the most powerful and misunderstood aspects of the e-Learning revolution. As organizations make significant investments in digital learning content, they seek greater assurances of portability and reusability. Organizations also desire the ability to more easily store, search, index, deploy, assemble, and revise learning content.". Industry report from the Masie Centre
Updated:: 21 November 2003
Reviewer's Note:
You can download the PDF file for FREE.
Dr Ed's SCORM Course from JCA Solutions
"This is ADL's SCORM course for managers, authors, instructional designers and developers of online courses who want to comply with the requirements of the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORMTM). Author: Dr Ed Jones of JCA Solutions.
Updated: 8 July 2003
Reviewer's Note:
Want to find out more about SCORM (and learning standards) - try this online course
Technology for sharing: researching learning obects and digital rights management
"They have explored the brave new world of learning objects - teaching resources which can be anything from a word document to a journal or a multimedia presentation. They have investigated ways to store, share and recontextualise these resources including digital rights management and the use of metadata." Sam Meredith, Peter Higgs and Tim Hand
Added: 10 May 2003
Reviewer's Note:
Impressive 126 page PDF document
Reusing online resources: a sustainable approach to e-learning
"Welcome to this Special Issue of the Journal of Interactive Media in Education, which is 'reusing' the Reusing Online Resources book as the point of departure for online discussion" Edited by Allison Littlejohn, JIME, April 2003
Added: 20 May 2003
Reviewer's Note:
Summaries of the chapters online
Deployment Issues in an Enterprise Distributed Learning Architecture "SCORM incompatibility across multiple Web domains is not a frequently discussed problem, but it exists, and in some organizations presents a major obstacle to enterprise-wide distributed learning. In this article, you will learn how these issuesmay affect your organization, and some strategies that may help you work around them.quot; Jeffrey C. Engelbrecht, eLearning Developers Journal, February 2003
Added: 19 February 2003
Reviewer's Note:
Reviewer's Not: Covers the important issue of SCORM compatability with LMS and content
"Content management holds the promise of better organization, increased access to resources, greater organizational effectiveness...for those who dare slog through the process of setting up a content management system - a task often more onerous than dealing with unorganized content." George Siemens, elearnspace, 23 January 2003
Added: 10 January 2003
Reviewer's Note:
An excellent discussion of content management
Introduction to the ADL initiative and SCORM
"The Academic Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Co-Lab has developed a collection of Sharable Content Objects (SCOs) as an Introduction to the ADL Initiative and the SCORMT." Academic ADL Co-Lab
Added: 10 December 2002
Reviewer's Note:
A web-based course using SCOs. You will need to register to access the course.
Learning Objects 101: A primer for neophytes
"Ask any three educators what a learning object is, and you're liable to get three different answers. For some, learning objects-small reusable chunks of learning-represent a major paradigm shift away from the traditional unit of learning that has dominated formal education for the last two centuries-the course."
Added: 26 November 2002
Reviewer's Note:
"Published by the Learning Resources Unit of the British Columbia Institute of Technology to support and recognize innovative practice in distributed learning at BCIT, and in the greater educational community."
Specifications and standards for learning materials
"The Internet has been good for education: over the last decade, the trickle of content has become a flood, and educators have been quick to integrate the largesse into courses and classroom practices; distance education has mushroomed, and sophisticated systems for the delivery of elearning are in place. However, the problem of interoperability remains - writing Web-based courses is expensive, and educators need to be able to share resources if courses are to be cost-effective." Graeme Daniel and Kevin Cox, Web Tools Newsletter, 25 August 2002
Added: 25 August 2002
Reviewer's Note:
A round-up of all the relevant literature on learning objects and standards
"SCORM is beginning to change the e-learning industry, but will it clarify and strengthen it or lead it into disaster? Edward Welsch, Online Learning Magazine, August 2002
Added: 2 August 2002
Reviewer's Note:
This article quotes Stephen Lahanas, a Cisco systems engineer: "Instead of simplifying things and making content more affordable and accessible, SCORM is adding new layers of complexity that will drive up costs and more or less completely hamstring the entire industry."
A Field Guide to Learning Objects
"Learning Object. Modular building block. Chunk. Reusable information object. Nugget. Whatever. The list goes on. But what is a learning object, exactly. More important, how and when should they be used? Learning Circuits in collaboration with SmartForce breakdown the types of learning objects--instruction, collaboration, practice, and assessment--that are currently developed by most e-learning suppliers." Lori Mortimer, Learning Circuits, July 2002
Added: 12 July 2002
Reviewer's Note:
The title is a little confusing, referring as it does to "learning objects" - I think a better title would be "A Field Guide to Learning Events" - this is a good, quick summary of the main types of e-learning events in use or that a designer might want to consider when creating an e-learning solution.
The new frontier of learning object design
"Learning objects appear to have significant potential for creating highly personalized learning programs, easily updated courses, and performance support tools. However, as e-Learning has become heavily dependent on technologists, producers, and funders, learning designers have lost their voice and often seem to drop out of the conversation. Learning designers must think about better ways to conceptualize and create resources and programs. Here are some promising leads..." Ellen Wagner, eLearning Developers Journal, 18 June 2002
Added: 19 June 2002
Reviewer's Note:
A comprehensive look at "learning objects" and their design
Learning object approach is making inroads
"The findings from a survey conducted by the Learning on Demand program of SRI Consulting Business Intelligence, which researches e-learning trends, in conjunction with Learning Circuits, found substantial interest in learning object methodologies from training professionals and others in a wide range of industries." Tom Barron, Learning Circuits, May 2002
Added: 10 May 2002
Reviewer's Note:
"Organizations that take a broad view of their knowledge assets are moving toward object-based learning content as part of a larger organizational shift to object-based content."
An introduction to AICC, SCORM and IMS (XML)
"This course defines the common eLearning standards in use today and it discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each."
Added: 20 April 2002
Reviewer's Note:
A short tutorial on the main standards
Demystifying learning technology standards - Part I: Development and Evolution
"Standards play an important role in the development of innovative processes and technologies. Historically, the development of standards indicates that a particular process or technology is maturing and has achieved a degree of commercial success, such that there is a need for standards compliance. Standards provide a measure of quality assurance and build consensus among stakeholders regarding accepted norms for compliance and criteria for certification. However, the primary benefits of standards, for both software and hardware technologies, are interoperability and integration." Nishikant Sonwalkar, Syllabus Magazine, March 2002
Added: March 2002
Reviewer's Note:
Part II: Acceptance and Implementation
"Part II provides a glimpse into acceptance and implementation, illustrated by SCORM specifications as they may be applied to courseware development."
Updated: 10 April 2002
Reviewer's Note:
Another attempt to explain the background and purpose of learning technology standards.
The evolution of the learning content management system
"We're in the midst of an e-learning revolution, which brings with it rapid change, a myriad of emerging technologies, and greater opportunities to generate significant business returns on e-learning investments. During this period, technology has progressed in a series of evolutionary stages, which have had an increasingly profound impact upon the speed, content ownership, cost, flexibility, and business benefits of e-learning solutions. Reviewing the last five years of market developments reveals the emergence of LCMSs as a platform of choice for many companies seeking fast deployment of e-learning."
Added: 6 April 2002
Reviewer's Note:
Conclusion: "An LCMS that's linked to learning management systems and other internal applications will become the product of choice and necessity for companies that need to achieve measurable results from their e-learning investments."
Learning objects of desire: promise and practicality
"For years, the e-learning industry has anticipated the day when learners could personalize, assemble on the fly, and deliver e-learning on demand. Development teams would be able to build content a single time, store it electronically, reuse it, and deploy it in different formats with a simple button click. A small content piece--a learning object--would establish the foundation upon which these capabilities rest." Lori Mortimer, Learning Circuits, April 2002
Added: 6 April 2002
Reviewer's Note:
The conclusion: "Some companies are ready to start building learning object libraries and implement large LCMSs. Many won't be ready for years, though."
Case Study: Cisco Systems ventures into the land of reusability
"Here's how Cisco Systems transferred its instructor-led Career Certification courses into an e-learning format to better streamline lessons, allow thousands of employees to learn at their own pace, and arm its closest learning partners with reusable learning objects they could repurpose into customized course offerings." Peg Maddocks, Learning Circuits, March 2002
Added: 7 March 2002
Reviewer's Note:
Includes some key steps to ease the pain!
"When you're learning a new job, or just trying to survive day-to-day in a fast-changing environment in which it seems there's always something new you have to understand or be able to do, then you need support. You could ask your colleague who's the local expert on the subject at hand, but she's probably too busy keeping up-to-date herself to react to every cry for help from people like you. Thank goodness your organisation installed a learning content management system. Now you can read all those reports, presentations and briefings that previously were scattered around the organisation. You can even take an e-learning course that's precisely tailored to what you need to know now. What's more, your colleague has also written up everything she knows on the subject so you don't have to bother her with the same routine queries. Is this a reality? Can one product really combine the benefits of e-learning and knowledge management in one integrated system? Well, maybe. In this article, Clive Shepherd examines the claims for learning content management systems and helps you to determine whether the LCMS is an acronym that you need to add to your working dictionary." Clive Shepherd, Tactix, March 2002
Added: 7 March 2002
Reviewer's Note:
A good overview of content management and LCMS. This is a good place to start to really understand this subject
Topic representation and learning metadata
"Discussion of the use of topic maps and alternative schema generation tools for the creation of learning object metadata designed to handle tasks not envisioned by SCORM and other metadata standards." Stephen Downes, 25 January 2002
Added: 26 January 2002
Reviewer's Note:
Stephen's own thoughts about this subject. Not for beginners!
"Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs) are altering the landscape of learning. To some, they are a threat, to others a panacea, and to still others, they are the latest fad that will come and go." Peder Jacobsen, e-learning magazine, November 2001
Added: 12 January 2002
Reviewer's Note:
Looks at the immediate and long term future of learning objects
Learning Objects and Learning Standards
"History shows that revolutionary changes do not take off without widespread adoption of common standards" Wayne Hodgins, Learnativity
Updated: 27 December 2001
Reviewer's Note:
This is THE place to find out about learning standards
Learning technology standards: an overview
"Learning Technologies have been evolving over the last two or three decades, and have gone through many phases and approaches, including early mainframe based programmed learning systems, microcomputer software packages written in native programming languages for specific machines, bulletin boards, CBT systems, authoring systems, and more recently after the internet explosion, web-based systems and Learning Management Systems."
Added: 8 September 2001
Reviewer's Note:
The rationale behind interoperability standards
Managing Knowledge with Knowledge Objects
"e-Learning is increasingly where enterprises with large, dispersed organizations are turning to stay competitive. Companies who successfully implement e-learning speed their employees' time to performance gain the agility and effectiveness needed to stay ahead. This white paper, entitled "Managing Knowledge with Learning Objects", further outlines these topics in detail:
Updated: 5 September 2001
Reviewer's Note:
A WBT Systems White Paper written by Duncan Lennox.
The instructional use of learning objects
"This is the online version of The Instructional Use of Learning Objects, a new book that tries to go beyond the technological hype and connect learning objects to instruction and learning. You can read the full text of the book here for free. The chapters presented here are © their respective authors and are licensed under the Open Publication License, meaning that you are free to copy and redistribute them in any electronic or non-commercial print form. For-profit print rights are held by AECT."
Added: 27 July 2001
Reviewer's Note:
In addition to reading the book you can participate in discussions of the book's chapters with the authors and others. See also David Wire's main website reusability.org
"Clive Shepherd sets about here to provide a workable definition of learning objects and to explain how they just might make a difference to real-world training. You could call this an object lesson." Tactix, December 2000.
Added: May 2001
Reviewer's Note:
"The fundamental particle of next-generation e-learning -- the learning object--is in various stages of design, construction, and use by pioneering organizations." Tom Barron, LearningCircuits, March 2000.
Added: May 2001
Reviewer's Note:
"This article describes some of the challenges and opportunities that reusable learning objects (RLOs) present to content developers as the object-oriented approach is adopted in more learning interventions." Warren Longmire, LearningCircuits, March 2000
Added: May 2001
Reviewer's Note:
"This essay discusses the topic of learning objects in three parts. First, it identifies a need for learning objects and describes their essential components based on this need. Second, drawing on concepts from recent developments in computer science, it describes learning objects from a theoretical perspective. Finally, it describes learning objects in practice, first as they are created or generated by content authors, and second, as they are displayed or used by students and other client groups." Stephen Downes. May 2000, Newstrolls - New Media
Added: 2000
Reviewer's Note:
Achieving interoperability in e-learning
"New technologies are allowing e-learning to be leveraged beyond the corporate firewall to encompass partners, customers, and suppliers. A look at the components of next-generation e-learning systems." Harvi Singh, ASTD Learning Circuits, March 2000.
Added: 2000
Reviewer's Note:
"It's all too easy to set yourself up as an e-learning developer, provider or tutor and, let's face it, the temptations are huge. E-learning provides the best hope yet for trainers to have a real influence on their organisation and opportunities abound for exciting new careers and businesses. But some order needs to be established in the goldrush territories, to protect e-learning consumers from the cowboys and to provide some guidance to practitioners and purveyors. In this article, Clive Shepherd explains why e-learning standards provide us, not with a stick with which to beat transgressors, but with a carrot that can encourage excellence."
Added: 2000
Reviewer's Note:
Standards: The vision and the hype
The drive to create industry-wide technology standards for e-learning is gaining momentum and adherents. But some see perils--and posturing--amid the promise. By Tom Barron, Learning Circuits, November 2000.
Added: 2000
Reviewer's Note:
ADL (Advanced Distributed Learning)
This offers a specification for the reuse, redeployment and interchangeablity of learning content. This specification is known as the SCORM model (Sharable Courseware Object Reference Model)
Added: 2000
Reviewer's Note:
AICC (Aviation Industry CBT Committee)
Develops guidelines for the development and delivery of CBT and other training technologies.
Added: 2000
Reviewer's Note:
CETIS (centre for educational technology interoperability standards)
"CETIS represents UK higher-education and further-education institutions on international learning technology standards initiatives."
Added: 8 September 2001
Reviewer's Note:
"The Customized Learning Experience Online (CLEO) Lab is a one-year research collaboration between corporations interested in e-learning, academic researchers and the U.S. Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative (ADL). Founded by Cisco Systems, Click2Learn, IBM Mindspan Solutions, Microsoft and NETg, the CLEO Lab goal is to conduct focused, applied research on technical and pedagogical issues related to the ADL Sharable Content Reference Model (SCORM), an important compilation of e-learning interoperability specifications."
Added: June 2001
Reviewer's Note:
IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee (LTSC)
The IEEE LTSC develops technical standards, recommended practices and guides for software components.
Added: 2000
Reviewer's Note:
"Here's a non-technical look at evolving e-learning standards, what the standards intend to achieve, the key players involved in developing the standards, and some implications for the future." Ryann Ellis, Learning Circuits, July 2005
Added: 9 July 2005
Reviewer's Note:
A nice overview with particular look at SCORM
Packaging and publishing learning objects: best practice guidelines
"With an increasing number of different learning platforms now in use in compulsory education, the wide adoption of a standard, consistent and technically robust method of exchanging learning content packages between systems is essential to the future growth and success of ICT in education." Becta, January 2005
Added: 16 March 2005
Reviewer's Note:
"The guidelines are aimed at developers who are already involved in the provision of digital learning content, as well as those who would like to get involved. They are not exhaustive by any means, but they do represent a practical guide to help ensure that your content is accessible and interoperable across learning platforms used in education."
"This is an overview of the Sharable Courseware Object Reference Model. It's hard to make technical standards understandable (much less interesting). Nonetheless, here's the cliff notes version of what you need to know about SCORM." Randall House Associates
Added: 6 March 2005
Reviewer's Note:
A quick survey of SCORM
An introduction to AICC, SCORM and ISM (XML)
"This course defines the common e-Learning standards in use today along with outlining the strengths and weaknesses of each standard." ReadyGo, 2004
Added: 5 February 2005
Reviewer's Note:
Looks at the 3 main standards
eLearning and content management: one can help the other
"Organisations considering implementing an eLearning initiative which already have a content management system, might be surprised by how well the two can complement each other." Bret Freeman, Content-Wire, 26 January 2005
Added: 26 January 2005
Reviewer's Note:
The case for using a content management system within e-learning
Learning objects: a practical definition
"Learning objects make it unnecessary to have thousands of iterations of the same teaching point. Metadata makes it possible to select and integrate relevant learning experiences from a relatively small library of learning objects. Reusable learning objects permit lessons to be generated and customized for specific groups or even for individuals. Extensive research and development has led to a vocabulary of specialized terms to define learning objects." Rory McGreal, International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, September 2004
Added: 1 November 2004
Reviewer's Note:
Rory McGreal provides a rationale to relate variations in terminology into a single practical definition of Learning Objects.
Guidelines for authors of learning objects
"Included topics are the range and types of learning objects, pedagogical and design considerations, as well as discussions of standards, metadata, interoperability, and reusability." NMC
Added: 21 May 2004
Reviewer's Note:
Available as a 1.6 Mb downloadable PDF file
Learning object repositories, digital repositories and the reusable life of course content.
"Course management systems have gone mainstream. If your college doesn't have one, it will." Phillip D Long, Syllabus Magazine, May 2004
Added: 3 May 2004
Reviewer's Note:
Includes links to examples of digital repositories
"Given the ongoing diversity of opinions on the defining attributes of Learning Objects, it comes as no surprise that this is reflected in a similarly broad array of mechanisms and facilities designed to harvest, metadescribe, and distribute them for reuse. Though commonly known as Learning Object Repositories, they may also be found designated as Learning Object Libraries , Virtual or Digital Libraries , or even as Referratories ." Graeme Daniel, wwwtools for teachers Newsletter, 3 May 2004
Added: 3 May 2004
Reviewer's Note:
"A Learning Object Repository is a searchable database that houses digital resources and/or metadata that can be reused to mediate learning."
"the available body of Web-based resources is as vast as it is diverse, beyond the capacity of individual educational practitioners to accurately choose the best suite of resources for particular learning outcomes - they simply don't have the time to preview everything on offer. The problem is digital, and requires a digital solution: enter the concept of Learning Objects, fuzzy though it may still be, and ideas on how they may most effectively be delivered to learners." Graeme Daniel, wwwtools for teachers Newsletter, 18 April 2004
Added: 19 April 2004
Reviewer's Note:
A collection of links and resources about learning objects.
Standards: Do we really need them?
"I have decided to write this article because I became gradually interested with online collaboration technologies and with their ability and potential to influence and shape the kind of future we are going to be living in." Luigi Canali De Rossi, Robin Good, December 2003
Added: 30 December 2003
Reviewer's Note:
The issues around standards
Shareable Content Objects (SCORM): Whole course design and implementation issues
"As rich-media e-Learning increasingly becomes the educational resource of choice, specifications like SCORM become increasingly important. Yet we are only beginning to identify best practices to support the different contexts in which people learn. This wide-ranging article shares the author's experiences and research with Sharable Content Objects (SCOs) and the issues that SCOs raise" Joel McKinney, eLearning Developers Journal, 22 December 2003
Added: 30 December 2003
Reviewer's Note:
You will need to register with the eLearning Guild to access this article
"The area of learning standards is one of the most powerful and misunderstood aspects of the e-Learning revolution. As organizations make significant investments in digital learning content, they seek greater assurances of portability and reusability. Organizations also desire the ability to more easily store, search, index, deploy, assemble, and revise learning content.". Industry report from the Masie Centre
Updated:: 21 November 2003
Reviewer's Note:
You can download the PDF file for FREE.
Dr Ed's SCORM Course from JCA Solutions
"This is ADL's SCORM course for managers, authors, instructional designers and developers of online courses who want to comply with the requirements of the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORMTM). Author: Dr Ed Jones of JCA Solutions.
Updated: 8 July 2003
Reviewer's Note:
Want to find out more about SCORM (and learning standards) - try this online course
Technology for sharing: researching learning obects and digital rights management
"They have explored the brave new world of learning objects - teaching resources which can be anything from a word document to a journal or a multimedia presentation. They have investigated ways to store, share and recontextualise these resources including digital rights management and the use of metadata." Sam Meredith, Peter Higgs and Tim Hand
Added: 10 May 2003
Reviewer's Note:
Impressive 126 page PDF document
Reusing online resources: a sustainable approach to e-learning
"Welcome to this Special Issue of the Journal of Interactive Media in Education, which is 'reusing' the Reusing Online Resources book as the point of departure for online discussion" Edited by Allison Littlejohn, JIME, April 2003
Added: 20 May 2003
Reviewer's Note:
Summaries of the chapters online
Deployment Issues in an Enterprise Distributed Learning Architecture "SCORM incompatibility across multiple Web domains is not a frequently discussed problem, but it exists, and in some organizations presents a major obstacle to enterprise-wide distributed learning. In this article, you will learn how these issuesmay affect your organization, and some strategies that may help you work around them.quot; Jeffrey C. Engelbrecht, eLearning Developers Journal, February 2003
Added: 19 February 203
Reviewer's Note:
Reviewer's Not: Covers the important issue of SCORM compatability with LMS and content
"Content management holds the promise of better organization, increased access to resources, greater organizational effectiveness...for those who dare slog through the process of setting up a content management system - a task often more onerous than dealing with unorganized content." George Siemens, elearnspace, 23 January 2003
Added: 10 January 2003
Reviewer's Note:
An excellent discussion of content management
Introduction to the ADL initiative and SCORM
"The Academic Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Co-Lab has developed a collection of Sharable Content Objects (SCOs) as an Introduction to the ADL Initiative and the SCORMT." Academic ADL Co-Lab
Added: 10 December 2002
Reviewer's Note:
A web-based course using SCOs. You will need to register to access the course.
Learning Objects 101: A primer for neophytes
"Ask any three educators what a learning object is, and you're liable to get three different answers. For some, learning objects-small reusable chunks of learning-represent a major paradigm shift away from the traditional unit of learning that has dominated formal education for the last two centuries-the course."
Added: 26 November 2002
Reviewer's Note:
"Published by the Learning Resources Unit of the British Columbia Institute of Technology to support and recognize innovative practice in distributed learning at BCIT, and in the greater educational community."
Specifications and standards for learning materials
"The Internet has been good for education: over the last decade, the trickle of content has become a flood, and educators have been quick to integrate the largesse into courses and classroom practices; distance education has mushroomed, and sophisticated systems for the delivery of elearning are in place. However, the problem of interoperability remains - writing Web-based courses is expensive, and educators need to be able to share resources if courses are to be cost-effective." Graeme Daniel and Kevin Cox, Web Tools Newsletter, 25 August 2002
Added: 25 August 2002
Reviewer's Note:
A round-up of all the relevant literature on learning objects and standards
"SCORM is beginning to change the e-learning industry, but will it clarify and strengthen it or lead it into disaster? Edward Welsch, Online Learning Magazine, August 2002
Added: 2 August 2002
Reviewer's Note:
This article quotes Stephen Lahanas, a Cisco systems engineer: "Instead of simplifying things and making content more affordable and accessible, SCORM is adding new layers of complexity that will drive up costs and more or less completely hamstring the entire industry."
A Field Guide to Learning Objects
"Learning Object. Modular building block. Chunk. Reusable information object. Nugget. Whatever. The list goes on. But what is a learning object, exactly. More important, how and when should they be used? Learning Circuits in collaboration with SmartForce breakdown the types of learning objects--instruction, collaboration, practice, and assessment--that are currently developed by most e-learning suppliers." Lori Mortimer, Learning Circuits, July 2002
Added: 12 July 2002
Reviewer's Note:
The title is a little confusing, referring as it does to "learning objects" - I think a better title would be "A Field Guide to Learning Events" - this is a good, quick summary of the main types of e-learning events in use or that a designer might want to consider when creating an e-learning solution.
The new frontier of learning object design
"Learning objects appear to have significant potential for creating highly personalized learning programs, easily updated courses, and performance support tools. However, as e-Learning has become heavily dependent on technologists, producers, and funders, learning designers have lost their voice and often seem to drop out of the conversation. Learning designers must think about better ways to conceptualize and create resources and programs. Here are some promising leads..." Ellen Wagner, eLearning Developers Journal, 18 June 2002
Added: 19 June 2002
Reviewer's Note:
A comprehensive look at "learning objects" and their design
Learning object approach is making inroads
"The findings from a survey conducted by the Learning on Demand program of SRI Consulting Business Intelligence, which researches e-learning trends, in conjunction with Learning Circuits, found substantial interest in learning object methodologies from training professionals and others in a wide range of industries." Tom Barron, Learning Circuits, May 2002
Added: 10 May 2002
Reviewer's Note:
"Organizations that take a broad view of their knowledge assets are moving toward object-based learning content as part of a larger organizational shift to object-based content."
An introduction to AICC, SCORM and IMS (XML)
"This course defines the common eLearning standards in use today and it discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each."
Added: 20 April 2002
Reviewer's Note:
A short tutorial on the main standards
Demystifying learning technology standards - Part I: Development and Evolution
"Standards play an important role in the development of innovative processes and technologies. Historically, the development of standards indicates that a particular process or technology is maturing and has achieved a degree of commercial success, such that there is a need for standards compliance. Standards provide a measure of quality assurance and build consensus among stakeholders regarding accepted norms for compliance and criteria for certification. However, the primary benefits of standards, for both software and hardware technologies, are interoperability and integration." Nishikant Sonwalkar, Syllabus Magazine, March 2002
Added: March 2002
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Part II: Acceptance and Implementation
"Part II provides a glimpse into acceptance and implementation, illustrated by SCORM specifications as they may be applied to courseware development."
Updated: 10 April 2002
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Another attempt to explain the background and purpose of learning technology standards.
The evolution of the learning content management system
"We're in the midst of an e-learning revolution, which brings with it rapid change, a myriad of emerging technologies, and greater opportunities to generate significant business returns on e-learning investments. During this period, technology has progressed in a series of evolutionary stages, which have had an increasingly profound impact upon the speed, content ownership, cost, flexibility, and business benefits of e-learning solutions. Reviewing the last five years of market developments reveals the emergence of LCMSs as a platform of choice for many companies seeking fast deployment of e-learning."
Added: 6 April 2002
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Conclusion: "An LCMS that's linked to learning management systems and other internal applications will become the product of choice and necessity for companies that need to achieve measurable results from their e-learning investments."
Learning objects of desire: promise and practicality
"For years, the e-learning industry has anticipated the day when learners could personalize, assemble on the fly, and deliver e-learning on demand. Development teams would be able to build content a single time, store it electronically, reuse it, and deploy it in different formats with a simple button click. A small content piece--a learning object--would establish the foundation upon which these capabilities rest." Lori Mortimer, Learning Circuits, April 2002
Added: 6 April 2002
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The conclusion: "Some companies are ready to start building learning object libraries and implement large LCMSs. Many won't be ready for years, though."
Case Study: Cisco Systems ventures into the land of reusability
"Here's how Cisco Systems transferred its instructor-led Career Certification courses into an e-learning format to better streamline lessons, allow thousands of employees to learn at their own pace, and arm its closest learning partners with reusable learning objects they could repurpose into customized course offerings." Peg Maddocks, Learning Circuits, March 2002
Added: 7 March 2002
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Includes some key steps to ease the pain!
"When you're learning a new job, or just trying to survive day-to-day in a fast-changing environment in which it seems there's always something new you have to understand or be able to do, then you need support. You could ask your colleague who's the local expert on the subject at hand, but she's probably too busy keeping up-to-date herself to react to every cry for help from people like you. Thank goodness your organisation installed a learning content management system. Now you can read all those reports, presentations and briefings that previously were scattered around the organisation. You can even take an e-learning course that's precisely tailored to what you need to know now. What's more, your colleague has also written up everything she knows on the subject so you don't have to bother her with the same routine queries. Is this a reality? Can one product really combine the benefits of e-learning and knowledge management in one integrated system? Well, maybe. In this article, Clive Shepherd examines the claims for learning content management systems and helps you to determine whether the LCMS is an acronym that you need to add to your working dictionary." Clive Shepherd, Tactix, March 2002
Added: 7 March 2002
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A good overview of content management and LCMS. This is a good place to start to really understand this subject
Topic representation and learning metadata
"Discussion of the use of topic maps and alternative schema generation tools for the creation of learning object metadata designed to handle tasks not envisioned by SCORM and other metadata standards." Stephen Downes, 25 January 2002
Added: 26 January 2002
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Stephen's own thoughts about this subject. Not for beginners!
"Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs) are altering the landscape of learning. To some, they are a threat, to others a panacea, and to still others, they are the latest fad that will come and go." Peder Jacobsen, e-learning magazine, November 2001
Added: 12 January 2002
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Looks at the immediate and long term future of learning objects
Learning Objects and Learning Standards
"History shows that revolutionary changes do not take off without widespread adoption of common standards" Wayne Hodgins, Learnativity
Updated: 27 December 2001
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This is THE place to find out about learning standards
Learning technology standards: an overview
"Learning Technologies have been evolving over the last two or three decades, and have gone through many phases and approaches, including early mainframe based programmed learning systems, microcomputer software packages written in native programming languages for specific machines, bulletin boards, CBT systems, authoring systems, and more recently after the internet explosion, web-based systems and Learning Management Systems."
Added: 8 September 2001
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The rationale behind interoperability standards
Managing Knowledge with Knowledge Objects
"e-Learning is increasingly where enterprises with large, dispersed organizations are turning to stay competitive. Companies who successfully implement e-learning speed their employees' time to performance gain the agility and effectiveness needed to stay ahead. This white paper, entitled "Managing Knowledge with Learning Objects", further outlines these topics in detail:
Updated: 5 September 2001
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A WBT Systems White Paper written by Duncan Lennox.
The instructional use of learning objects
"This is the online version of The Instructional Use of Learning Objects, a new book that tries to go beyond the technological hype and connect learning objects to instruction and learning. You can read the full text of the book here for free. The chapters presented here are © their respective authors and are licensed under the Open Publication License, meaning that you are free to copy and redistribute them in any electronic or non-commercial print form. For-profit print rights are held by AECT."
Added: 27 July 2001
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In addition to reading the book you can participate in discussions of the book's chapters with the authors and others. See also David Wire's main website reusability.org
"Clive Shepherd sets about here to provide a workable definition of learning objects and to explain how they just might make a difference to real-world training. You could call this an object lesson." Tactix, December 2000.
Added: May 2001
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"The fundamental particle of next-generation e-learning -- the learning object--is in various stages of design, construction, and use by pioneering organizations." Tom Barron, LearningCircuits, March 2000.
Added: May 2001
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"This article describes some of the challenges and opportunities that reusable learning objects (RLOs) present to content developers as the object-oriented approach is adopted in more learning interventions." Warren Longmire, LearningCircuits, March 2000
Added: May 2001
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"This essay discusses the topic of learning objects in three parts. First, it identifies a need for learning objects and describes their essential components based on this need. Second, drawing on concepts from recent developments in computer science, it describes learning objects from a theoretical perspective. Finally, it describes learning objects in practice, first as they are created or generated by content authors, and second, as they are displayed or used by students and other client groups." Stephen Downes. May 2000, Newstrolls - New Media
Added: 2000
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Achieving interoperability in e-learning
"New technologies are allowing e-learning to be leveraged beyond the corporate firewall to encompass partners, customers, and suppliers. A look at the components of next-generation e-learning systems." Harvi Singh, ASTD Learning Circuits, March 2000.
Added: 2000
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"It's all too easy to set yourself up as an e-learning developer, provider or tutor and, let's face it, the temptations are huge. E-learning provides the best hope yet for trainers to have a real influence on their organisation and opportunities abound for exciting new careers and businesses. But some order needs to be established in the goldrush territories, to protect e-learning consumers from the cowboys and to provide some guidance to practitioners and purveyors. In this article, Clive Shepherd explains why e-learning standards provide us, not with a stick with which to beat transgressors, but with a carrot that can encourage excellence."
Added: 2000
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Standards: The vision and the hype
The drive to create industry-wide technology standards for e-learning is gaining momentum and adherents. But some see perils--and posturing--amid the promise. By Tom Barron, Learning Circuits, November 2000.
Added: 2000
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ADL (Advanced Distributed Learning)
This offers a specification for the reuse, redeployment and interchangeablity of learning content. This specification is known as the SCORM model (Sharable Courseware Object Reference Model)
Added: 2000
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AICC (Aviation Industry CBT Committee)
Develops guidelines for the development and delivery of CBT and other training technologies.
Added: 2000
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CETIS (centre for educational technology interoperability standards)
"CETIS represents UK higher-education and further-education institutions on international learning technology standards initiatives."
Added: 8 September 2001
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"The Customized Learning Experience Online (CLEO) Lab is a one-year research collaboration between corporations interested in e-learning, academic researchers and the U.S. Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative (ADL). Founded by Cisco Systems, Click2Learn, IBM Mindspan Solutions, Microsoft and NETg, the CLEO Lab goal is to conduct focused, applied research on technical and pedagogical issues related to the ADL Sharable Content Reference Model (SCORM), an important compilation of e-learning interoperability specifications."
Added: June 2001
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IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee (LTSC)
The IEEE LTSC develops technical standards, recommended practices and guides for software components.
Added: 2000
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IMS (Instructional Management Systems) Project
Creates standards for interoperability of content and management systems.
Added: 2000
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