An objective view of learning objects - E-Learning

T+D, May, 2002 by Kevin Oakes

To some people, I'm sure it seems like we've been hearing about the promise of learning objects for several years. And I'm certain that for others, learning objects are a brand-new concept, and a confusing one at that. Although, to date, learning objects have been more promise than practice, they represent one of the more exciting elements of e-learning and should be understood thoroughly by anyone who is serious about e-learning.

The term learning object represents a combination of the concept of learning and the paradigm of object-orientation widely used in computer science. Two important concepts from traditional object-orientation apply: 1) A traditional object in the computer science world is self-describing. In other words, it contains all of the information about itself so that it can be located at any time and its capabilities can be "read" by whoever wishes to use the object. 2) A single object can be used in multiple places, which obviates the need to duplicate the capabilities of the object in every place.

Those key notions of objects in the traditional computer science world were borrowed by the learning industry to arrive at the concept of the learning object. A learning object is a self-describing, self-contained small chunk of learning that accomplishes a specific learning objective.

Let's focus on some of the key terms in that definition.

Self-describing. The term self-describing implies that, in addition to the content, a learning object contains a description of itself, including such information as the type of content; learning objectives, author, language, and version; and when the content was created. Look at the Properties menu in any Microsoft Word document for a rudimentary example.

The information describing an object in that manner is usually referred to as metadata. To arrive at a good example of metadata, imagine what happens when the barcode on a product is scanned. The barcode provides instant information about the product, including its name, product category, quantity, and price. The metadata affixed to a learning object can be viewed as similar to a barcode affixed to a product. By "reading" the metadata, an individual or a system can get all of the information about that learning object to help decide how to use it best.

Self-contained. The term self-contained emphasizes that the content in a learning object should be complete enough to accomplish one or more learning objectives. Think of a learning object as a comprehensive module inside a course. Though the learning objects can be assembled and delivered in aggregate form to satisfy a larger learning goal, each learning object in that aggregation should satisfy at least one well-defined learning objective.

Just in time

One way many organizations use learning objects is for just-in-time learning. Dubbed "electronic performance support" years ago by Gloria Gery, the ability to call up small nuggets of information quickly at the moment of need is an inherent concept in learning objects. Because each object has metadata describing its content, the ability to search and retrieve learning objects quickly is a benefit cited by proponents.

Reusable

In addition to instant access, another key element (and benefit) of learning objects is the ability to reuse and share them across courses. That's one area in which a learning object becomes significantly more interesting and useful than the traditional course module. At the same time, it's a controversial issue in the e-learning industry.

The notion of creating small, reusable chunks of learning isn't new. In traditional classroom teaching, instructors often gather all of the material first, break it into small units, group it into modules that address specific objectives, and then pull those modules together in a particular order that makes sense for the course they intend to teach. If an instructor teaches multiple courses on the same subject, he or she often reuses some of the modules across those courses. The practice of reusing saves the instructor time.

So, why does similar reusability in the e-learning world create controversy?

In classroom delivery, learners' experience is dictated mostly by the teaching style of the instructor. Even when the instructor reuses modules from various sources, the fact that the same person is teaching the entire course guarantees some level of uniformity in the learning experience.

In the e-learning world, however, when learners take a self-paced course, the instructional style that dictates the uniformity of the learning experience is almost always embedded in the content. If a self-paced course is assembled from learning objects created by different sources, there's no way to guarantee that participants are going to receive a uniform and consistent learning experience. Because the instructional style in each learning object could be different, learners will likely receive a potpourri of instructional experiences within the same course. That issue creates violent arguments among even the most mild-mannered instructional designers about the practicality of reusing learning objects across courses.