Close Encounters With Learning Objects of a Digital Kind - Always Under Construction  

LEARNING INTENTION THEORY

For any digital object or media asset to acquire the status of a Learning Object (LO), it should be wrapped in a Learning Intention, which has two aspects: (1) Form, and (2) Relation.

Form:  Form is the framework in which a digital object is embedded, and it is the form that sets a media asset on the path to become a Learning Object. 

Example:  Picasso's painting, "Guernica."  When presented in an Art History course, the object acquires a different status, when viewed, and becomes a Learning Object because the Art History course, as form, gives the setting, context and environment for viewing the image and changes Guernica into an object of understanding. 

Relation:  As the learners acquire an understanding of Guernica, they should be guided through discourse as a method of learning 

Discourse:  An aspect of Relation.  A rational set of statements which can be language, as text, or as a visual, aural or interactive construction.

Learning Object: A media asset or digital object can become a learning object only when incorporated into a form and provides a relation to itself as a learning object in order to bring about the understanding of that object. 

A Digital Learning Object is a totality that combines its digital element and an exposition.

--Adapted from Polsani, Pithamber, "Use and Abuse of Reusable Learning Objects, in Journal of Digital Information , Vol 3. No. 4 (2003)  and Goodyear, Peter, "Environments for Lifelong Learning: Ergonomics, Architecture and Education Design, in Spector, J. Michael, and Theresa M. Anderson, Integrated and Holistic Perspectives on Learning, Instruction and Technology, Chapter 1.

IEEE: Learning Object Metadata Standard (LOMS)  Position Statement on 1484.12.1-2002 Learning Object Metadata (LOM) Standard Maintenance/Revision (10 December 2002)

"Learning Objects are defined here as any entity, digital or non-digital, which can be used, re-used or referenced during technology supported learning..."  (IEEE)

"...a Learning Object... [is] 'any digital resource that can be reused to support learning.' This definition includes anything that can be delivered across the network on demand, be it large or small. Examples of smaller reusable digital resources include digital images or photos, live data feeds (like stock tickers), live or prerecorded video or audio snippets, small bits of text, animations, and smaller web-delivered applications, like a Java calculator. Examples of larger reusable digital resources include entire web pages that combine text, images and other media or applications to deliver complete experiences, such as a complete instructional event" (Wiley 2002)  (Polsani 2003)

Goodyear, Peter, "Environments for Lifelong Learning: Ergonomics, Architecture and Education Design, in Spector, J. Michael, and Theresa M. Anderson, Integrated and Holistic Perspectives on Learning, Instruction and Technology, Chapter 1. 

McAndrew, Patrick; Goodyear, Peter and Dalziel, James (2006). Patterns, designs and activities: unifying descriptions of learning structures. International Journal of Learning Technology, 2(2-3), pp. 216–242.

Polsani, Pithamber R., "Use and Abuse of Reusable Learning Objects, in Journal of Digital Information, Vol. 3, No. 4 (2003)

Wiley, David. A. (2002) "Connecting Learning Objects to Instructional Design Theory: A Definition, a Metaphor, and a Taxonomy." The Instructional Use of Learning Objects (Bloomington, IN: Agency for Instructional Technology)