Access in the sense used in this chapter is not simply how the student brings up the relevant Learning Object onto his or her screen. A Learning Object is accessible when students can easily locate the Object, are engaged by what they observe, can work through the learning opportunities it presents, and, through its use, achieve some desirable learning objective. This process has components, including the hardware, software, connectivity, and regulations within the educational system that provide the student with the physical access to the learning potential of the object. However, accessibility must also recognise the developmental nature of education, for example in the literacy or manipulative loads that are required of students if they are to learn from the Object. Finally, there is an important social equity component of access where the Learning Object must be usable by all targeted students in ways that recognise, for example, individual student’s culture, gender and special needs.
Published in Chapter:
Effective Use of Learning Objects in Class Environments
David Lake (James Cook University, Australia), Kate Lowe (Murdoch University, Australia), Rob Phillips (Murdoch University, Australia), Rick Cummings (Murdoch University, Australia), and Renato Schibeci (Murdoch University, Australia)
Copyright: © 2009
|Pages: 22
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-861-1.ch024
Abstract
This chapter provides a model to analyse the effectiveness and efficiency of Learning Objects being used in primary and secondary schools by considering their place within that educational environment, paying particular attention to the manner in which they, like any resource, can aid or occlude productive interactions between teachers and students. It draws from a study of Australian and New Zealand schools that piloted the first release of Learning Objects from the Le@rning Federation. The chapter considers the place of Learning Objects within the overall systemic school environment, and in this environment, examines the individual classroom as the combination of tensions between the teacher’s needs, the students’ needs, and the potential available within the existing infrastructure. Within this framework, the chapter discusses the ways in which these three components interact during teacher selection of Learning Objects, students’ accession of Learning Objects in the classroom, and the use of the Learning Objects by students. It concludes by suggesting how students’ construction of knowledge can be enhanced through merging the capabilities of the resource with the needs of students and teachers.