Elaine Bennington Director of Adjunct Faculty Development Sellersburg

1. Learning Objects and Learning Units: Providing Adjunct Instructors a Complete Course Library on BlackBoard Elaine Bennington Director of Adjunct Faculty Development Sellersburg

2. Today’s Picture: • As an adjunct, you are “hired” on contingent that the course(s) in your discipline “make” with enough students • You are provided a textbook, syllabus, • Ivy Tech email, Campus Connect and BlackBoard access • Two weeks prior to semester start, you get notice that the course is a “go”

3. Have you put together your course?

4. Now Picture This: • Along with the textbook, syllabus , Ivy Tech email, Campus Connect and BlackBoard access • You also get ACCESS to a BlackBoard course library (not available to students) which is filled with lesson plans, learning objects and units from which you choose • Then you add your own materials to complete a fully structured course ready to teach

5. What am I proposing of you? • Consider your thoughts and reactions to this presentation • Picture yourself in collaboration with other colleagues around the state • Take this back to your program chairs and suggest such a collaboration • Ask to create a few BlackBoard course “shells” for library and see how it works!

6. Unique Course Library • One Statewide BB Development Shell for EACH program course • All faculty teaching this one course are in this shell as instructors to create, borrow, and copy materials to their own course(s) • Instructors choose learning objects or units to go with their teaching style • Instructors free to create/add further Learning Objects/Units to this library

7. “Instruction is more than information” --Merrill • Without instruction, information is just a series of facts and concepts • Instruction is— • Breaking out knowledge/information into learnable chunks • Structuring and sequencing of chunks into a way to “scaffold” into a “like” or common memory • Assessing recall/performance • Giving feedback /correction on the new knowledge structure

8. Short Definitions • Learning Object-- “any digital resource that can be reused to support learning.” • David A. Wiley, II, Utah State University • Connecting learning objects to instructional design theory: A definition, a metaphor, and a taxonomy • http://www.reusability.org/read/#5 • Learning Unit—a sequenced collection of objects used together to support learning

9. Learning Objects • New way of thinking about learning content. • Traditionally, content thought of combined in a “chunk” of several hours • Learning objects are much smaller bits of learning, typically ranging from 2 minutes to 15 minutes.  • Learning objects can be grouped into larger collections of content called units

10. Learning Objects--Origination • Learning objects are elements of a new type of computer-based instruction grounded in the object-oriented paradigm of computer science. • Object-orientation values the creation of components (called “objects”) that can be reusedin multiple contexts. • (Dahl & Nygaard, 1966)

11. Object = Collection of Components • Developers can build small (relative to the size of an entire course) instructional components that can be reused a number of times in different learning contexts. • David A. Wiley, II, Utah State University • Connecting learning objects to instructional design theory: A definition, a metaphor, and a taxonomy • http://www.reusability.org/read/#5

12. Learning Objects—Other Pluses • Self-contained – each learning object is finished and complete within itself • Reusable – a single learning object may be used in multiple contexts for multiple purposes • Tagged with metadata – every learning object has descriptive information allowing it to be easily found by a search • Adapted from the Wisconsin Online Resource Center (WORC)

13. Problem with Learning Objects • Don’t think of them as LEGOs • Combinable and assembled any way anyone chooses • Think of them as ATOMS • Not always combinable • Need to be sequenced and structured so one component follows or tracks another • Need some help/training to do this

14. Learning Unit = Collection of Learning Objects

15. Learning Units Include these objects: • Course and unit objective(s) Never more than 2 • Tools or resources needed to conduct the learning • The lecture(s), PowerPoints or readings needed • Course “modules”—a series of activities • Case Studies, simulations or games • Visuals, media, audio • Instructor and student directions on how to do assignment • Quiz, Test or Assessment of Learning • Web sites and readings for optional study

16. Learning Objects + Learning Units = Course Library • Learning Object—Resources that can be used to support learning • Learning Unit—how the Learning Objects are organized and structured within BlackBoard • Course Library—special to ONE COURSE (i.e. ENG 211) all objects and units available from various sources that an instructor can access and change from this BlackBoard Course Library

17. Who Oversees Library? • Program Chair to Individual Instructor Faculty add own materials State Curriculum Committee Program Chair Mentor Individual instructor pulls own section together

18. How can this help an individual instructor? • Collegial—work with other faculty teaching the SAME course(s) • Cooperative/collaborative—sharing teaching ideas and instructional materials in easiest way • Creative—increases your ability to create and present the best of your own expertise to your students, and share learning experiences

19. Bringing Learning Objects to BlackBoard • Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction is proven instructional technique • BlackBoard allows structuring and sequencing, performance and feedback for the most effective learning

20. Gagne’s Nine Events in Instruction

21. Steps in a BB Learning Unit • Gain Attention • Have them attend to what is important to them, to their life, career

22. Steps in a BB Learning Unit • Present Learning Objectives that tie to Unit • Show Levels of Expectations for student success

23. Recall prior learning Present Course Content (Learning Object) Games, lectures, readings, videos, activities Steps in a BB Learning Unit

24. Steps in a BB Learning Unit • Provide “Learning Guidance” • Present Student-Instructor-Student Interaction on Discussion Board or Chat

25. Steps in a BB Learning Unit • Elicit Performance • Homework, Groupwork, Assignment(s) for the Unit • Provide Feedback

26. Steps in a BB Learning Unit • Assess Performance • Add test or way of assessing learning

27. Steps in a BB Learning Unit • Enhance Retention and transfer • Provide Additional Resources to be accessed if they spike student’s interest in topic/discipline

28. All Within Each Class Session

29. Does this make the course “lockstep”? • Absolutely not—sharing resources, not the same single course around the state • Instructor has freedom to use (or not use), change (or not change) internal items, wording, grading • Instructor using these has freedom to add own learning objects or units to this course • All objects/units must carry metadata that shows attribution (make sure user cites from whom it comes)

30. Attribution or Intellectual Property Rights? • Faculty developing content, learning objects and units for an online course of this topic, (perhaps also offered in the course library)—if they receive off-load or stipend, it is Ivy Tech property • Faculty developing an on-campus object or unit, placing it into the course library, would place metadata tag of ownership that stays with the object, but it is sharable by attribution

31. Metadata • “data about data” • The card catalog in a public library • The labels on cans of soup • In both—the library book and the can of soup--metadata allow you to locate an item very quickly without investigating all the individual items through which you are searching. • David A. Wiley, II, Utah State University • Connecting learning objects to instructional design theory: A definition, a metaphor, and a taxonomy • http://www.reusability.org/read/#5

32. Where the World is Going—Great Groups • “…bring people together from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines who can refract a problem through the prism of complementary minds allied in common purpose. • “I call such collections of talent Great Groups. The genius of Great Groups is that they get remarkable people -- strong individual achievers -- to work together to get results. • “But these groups serve a second and equally important function: they provide psychic support and personal fellowship. They help generate courage. Without a sounding board for outrageous ideas, without personal encouragement and perspective when we hit a roadblock, we'd all lose our way"(Bennis, 1997).

33. Great Groups • Collaboration • Collegiality • Creativity

34. The Future • “We can let the future happen or take the trouble to imagine it. • “We can imagine it dark or bright – and in the long run, that’s how it will be.” • David Gelertner 2000

35. Our Future in Teaching • Create many shared learning objects • Use standard format such as BlackBoard • Create a project team working on a shared vision • Provides a creative “nudge” to do your own learning object • ‘None of us is as smart as all of us.’ • That's good, because the problems we face are too complex to be solved by any one person or any one discipline

36. Why You Need to Act • “The future is not just happening to us any more; we make decisions every day that determine what decisions we will be able to make tomorrow. • “ As we stand at the inflection point of a new learning economy, we realize that it will be shaped as we choose to shape it; it will be as rewarding and humane as we make it; the decisions we reach will determine what the world will be like for all of us. • “The world of learning with learning objects described in these chapters does not rest easily within the public system of education and training that exists in this country today. Much of this system was put into place as a result of demand, and many of these demands of that time have changed dramatically or disappeared. “ • The Future of Learning Objects H. Wayne Hodgins • wayne@learnativity.com

37. What am I wanting of you? • Think of collaboration with your other colleagues around the state • Provide them with your thoughts and reactions to this proposal • Take proposal back to your program chairs and suggest such a collaboration • Create a few course “shells” for library and see how it works!

38. Resources Interdisciplinary Journal of Learning Objects http://www.ijklo.org/ The Instructional Use of Learning Objects—full text http://www.reusability.org/read/ Elaine Bennington ebenning@ivytech.edu or Kara Monroe kmonroe@ivytech.edu