Customisation and the Interprofessional Application of E-Learning Objects

Background

Definitions of e-learning objects have generally focused on specifying their attributes. Polsani (2003) suggests that there is general agreement that e-learning objects should have technical qualities that make them accessible, interoperable and reusable. Further definitions suggest that e-learning objects should not just support learning but be instructionally designed to ensure they are credible educational resources (Harvey, 2005). Pedagogically rich, highly granular e-learning objects amply meet these criteria. However their size and sophistication can make them difficult to reuse because of the depth at which the learning or subject specific context is often addressed in such objects. This difficulty highlights the fundamental tension between pedagogically rich, high granularity objects and their reuse.

Despite this, practitioners recognise and are excited by e-learning objects that are well designed, instructionally sound, and rich with activities, explanations and information. They immediately see how such objects could be customised to support reuse with their student group or teaching and learning context. What stops them from undertaking such activity is a lack of technical skill and appropriate, freely available, easy to use tools and techniques for repurposing (Fill, Leung, DiBiase & Nelson, 2006; McDonald, 2006). They are further hampered by trying to work with e-learning objects where little attention has been paid in their design, presentation and creation to the ways in which they might be reused (Paris, 2003).