Learning objects

                    LEARNING OBJECTS

                       INTRODUCTION

A learning object is "a collection of content items, practice items, and assessment items that are combined based on a single learning objective".The term is credited to Wayne Hodgins, and dates from a working group in 1994 bearing the name. The concept encompassed by 'Learning Objects' is known by numerous other terms, including: content objects, chunks, educational objects, information objects, intelligent objects, knowledge bits, knowledge objects, learning components, media objects, reusable curriculum components, nuggets, reusable information objects, reusable learning objects, testable reusable units of cognition, training components, and units of learning.

The core idea of the use of learning objects is characterized by the following: discoverability, reusability, and interoperability. To support discoverability, learning objects are described by Learning Object Metadata, formalized as IEEE 1484.12 Learning object metadata.^] To support reusability, the IMS Consortium proposed a series of specifications such as the IMS Content package. And to support interoperability, the U.S. military's Advanced Distributed Learning organization created the Sharable Content Object Reference Model. Learning objects were designed in order to reduce the cost of learning, standardize learning content, and to enable the use and reuse of learning content by learning management systems.

Learning objects are short, standalone pieces of training content that can be combined to create a personalized learning experience. 

Think of them like building blocks than be stacked in different ways to suit different learners and scenarios. Or, if you think about a whole online learning course as a music album, each LO is a single song on it. LOs can be videos, interactions, quizzes, games, or simulations.By breaking complex concepts into small blocks, learning objects make it easier for learners to assimilate and retain information.The term originally comes from object-oriented programming, but it has made its way into learning design. Don’t worry, though, there’s no actual programming involved here. To get a bit more academic, the taxonomy of an e-learning course goes like this—an e-learning course consists of learning modules that consist of LOs.LOs are:

Instructional: They cover one single learning goal

Reusable: They are standalone or you can easily combine them with other LOs 

Interoperable: Interoperability means that you can use them with a whole host of different Learning Management Systems (LMSs), web browsers, operating systems, etc.

Extractable: You can categorize and tag LOs with metadata to make them easily searchable and discoverable through LO repositories  

The beauty of LOs is that they are reusable. You can upload them to your LMS individually or as a SCORM package once, and use them in various e-learning courses.That way, development time is shorter. Importantly, LOs work for every training scenario. Whether your training has its basis in social learning theory or behaviorism, learning objects are an effective way to present the material.

                                     

                                                  CONCLUSION

Learning Object is any entity, digital or non-digital, that can be used, re-used or referenced during technology-supported learning. Examples of learning objects include multimedia content, instructional content, instructional software and software tools that are referenced during technology-supported learning. Examples of smaller reusable digital resources include digital pictures or photographs, animation and video clips, small pieces of text, animations and smaller applications available via Web, as for instance is a calculator developed in Java. Examples of bigger reusable digital resources include entire web pages that combine text, pictures and other means, or applications that offer a complete educational experience.