Design principles for authoring dynamic re-usable learning objects

1. Design principles for authoring dynamic re-usable learning objects Tom Boyle Learning Technology Research Institute, London Metropolitan University ASCILITE 2002Auckland, New Zealand

2. Themes of talk • Authoring re-usable learning objects • Orthogonal to standardization work on metadata and packaging • Synthesis of ideas from • software engineering • pedagogical principles • Design principles • Illustrations of learning objects developed for a large project involving over 500 students • Preliminary evaluation

3. Background 1 • International work on learning objects standards • Two main standards/specifications • Metadata • Learning object packaging • IEEE LOM (Learning Object Metadata) standard – June 2002 • IMS content packaging specification

4. Packaging and metadata

5. Background 2: Java programming project • London Metropolitan University - Department of Computing • Over 500 first year students • Develop learning material implemented as cohesive eLearning objects • LTSC-ICS and wider use • Tight time frame • Development began in the Spring of 2002 • Course began in September 2002

6. Java programming project • Test these principles in a concrete implementation • learning to program in Java • ‘Authentic’ learning task • But there is a crisis in learning Java ‘Anyone who has presented an introductory programming module will be all too familiar with students who appear to be totally unable to grasp the basic concepts. Others who come to supervise final year dissertations will have been faced with students who insist that they want to avoid programming at all costs’ Jenkins and Davy (2001)

7. Main design goals Operate as independent, reusable learning objects • structural principles derived from Software Engineering • cohesion • decoupling Each learning object should provide a rich, effective learning experience • incorporate pedagogical principles to ensure • rich • Interactive learning

8. Cohesion • Each unit should do one thing and one thing only • One clear learning goal or objective • Minimum pedagogically meaningful unit • Flexible re-use • technically • higher order pedagogical flexibility

9. Controlled coupling • The unit should have minimal bindings to other units • There should be no necessary navigational bindings to other units (embedded hyperlinks) • Learning object content should not refer to the content in another source so as to cause necessary dependencies • Challenge: how to manage coupling so as to create • free-standing, re-usable objects • that are pedagogically rich

10. Compound objects • Simple, bounded learning objects • Swann (1994) ― multiple perspectives enrich learning • Compound objects • A compound object consists of two or more independent learning objects that are linked to create a compound • Provide • Pedagogical richness not available through simple objects • Significant base for repurposing

11. Banner Explanation and text-based examples Expansion links to other resources Link column Compound objects - illustrations text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text Compound object structure to support pedagogical richness

12. Advantages • Design pattern – Lyardet, Ross and Scwabe (1998) • Manage bindings between resources • Bindings are precise, locatable and minimized • Objects can be ‘repurposed’ through the addition, deletion or replacement of extra resources • Supports phased development • expansion over several phases of development • Supports variety of pedagogical styles – including techniques such as interactive visualization and scaffolding

13. Links to learning objects Syllabus Hierarchical structure • Aggregation • Layering ― principle of hierarchical separability Syllabus structure

17. Summary • Design principles for authoring learning objects • Reuse • cohesive, decoupled objects • Pedagogical richness • Repurposing • compound objects • Briefly – hierarchical integration • Live development and evaluation in a larger real-life educational context • Potential for theoretical guidance and synergies between eLearning developers and standardization workers