Developing and reusing learning objects for Computer Science

1
Developing and reusing learning objects for
Computer Science
2
Learning objects for programming
Tom Boyle London Metropolitan University
3
Outline structure

• Why learning objects for programming?
• What are learning objects?
• Structural design
• Pedagogical design
• Some illustrations

4
Why learning objects for programming?

• Crisis in learning to program
• Tackle this problem
• at institutional level
• contribute to solving national problem
• Collaborative development and sharing of quality
  eLearning resources
• To improve success rates in learning to program

5
Jenkins and Davy (2001)

• Anyone who has presented an introductory
  programming module will be all too familiar with
  students who appear to be totally unable to grasp
  the basic concepts

6
Conceptions of learning objects

• Learning objects symposium, Hawaii June 2003
• A learning object is -
• "any entity that may be used for learning,
  education or training"
• basic chunk of content
• optimised for recombination into higher order
  structures
• where pedagogical process is added.
• 'Micro-context for learning
• explicitly designed for flexible (re) combination
  into higher order pedagogical structures.

7
Criticisms of the content chunks approach

• Wiley (2003)
• based on 1980s ideas about instructional design
• Oriented to (military) training rather than
  education
• didactic transmission of knowledge
• info-capsules that transfer inert knowledge
• Clash with modern constructivist ideas
• support learners construction of knowledge
• Can learning objects embody rich pedadogy?

8
Learning objects as micro-contexts for learning

• Organised around one learning goal/objective
• Design for reuse
• Design for pedagogical effectiveness
• content
• interactivity/engagement
• rich constructivist ideas

9
Design the learning objects

• Design for immediate pedagogical impact
• it should be effective with this group of
  students in this class
• deal with the acute problem
• Design for strategic impact
• re-use
• critical mass
• solve the chronic problem

10
Two major dimensions

• Pedagogical effectiveness
• achieve a clear learning goal or objective
• Structural design for reuse
• cohesion
• decoupling

11
Structural principles

• Cohesion
• each unit should do one thing and one thing only
• one clear learning goal or objective
• minimum pedagogically meaningful unit
• Decoupling
• the unit should have minimal bindings to other
  units
• there should be no necessary navigational
  bindings to other units (embedded hyperlinks)
• learning object content should not refer to the
  content in another source so as to cause
  necessary dependencies

12
Pedagogical challenges

• Facilitating engagement
• Facilitating students in dealing with
• abstraction
• complexity
• Empowering students as learners
• Integration of learning objects in the course

13
The learning objects

• 54 learning objects created
• 114 multimedia animations and interactive
  simulations

14
Engage students with familiar, every day examples
15
Active student learning
16
Interact with samples of code
17
Visualise abstract concepts
18
Graphic examples
19
Scaffold student learning
20
Delivery is through a WebCT learning environ-ment
21
Challenges

• Be creative high quality design
• Co-operative and collaborative development
• Create critical mass and impact
• standardize and share
• repositories and more
• Building communities of practice

22
Learning objects sample sites

• Demo site http//www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk
• - select Learning objects from quick view
  panel on left of screen
• EASA RLOs http//www.londonmet.ac.uk/ltri/learnin
  gobjects/list.htm
• Codewitz http//www.codewitz.org
• NLN learning materials http//www.nln.ac.uk/mat
  erials/
• UCEL http//www.ucel.ac.uk

23
Useful references

• CETIS http//www.cetis.ac.uk
• Centre for Educational Technology
  Interoperability Standards
• Boyle, T., (2003), Design principles for
  authoring dynamic, reusable learning objects.
  Australian Journal of Educational Technology,
  19(1), 46-58 http//www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet1
  9/boyle.html
• MERLOT http//www.merlot.org