Learning Objects

I found from the web the following definition of Learning Object as "A self-contained piece of learning material with an associated learning objective, which could be of any size and in a range of media. Learning objects are capable of re-use by being combined together with other objects for different learning purposes." This definition is very clear and concise. It also supports the definition from our reading "Learning objects need instructional design theory". From that article, I have learnt about using learning objects in a principled way to support learning which includes combination & granularity in instructional design terms. Combination means taking individual learning objects and combining them in such a way that made instructional sense or the need to "sequence" the learning objects. Another factor is considering "granularity" or "how big should a learning object be?" For instructional designers, it is important to consider not only combination & granularity but also the scope & sequence. I have found the following website to be extremely helpful in giving examples of learning objects. Please feel free to explore :
Ministry of Education, Singapore - edu.MALL
Are there any other interesting websites that illustrate good instructional use & design of Learning Objects? Care to share?

My Podcast Blog

Welcome

Virtual Learning Networks

On reflecting what is said in the article "Designing Hypertext Multimedia Educational Software", it is paramount to have a design plan in creating hyperlinked educational multimedia. It is also timely to remind ourselves that gone are the days when we just need to be proficient in recalling facts but to apply new knowledge to different contexts or learning environments. As educators, we need to strengthen the problem-solving skills of the pupils using hypertext computer systems to create these flexible learning environments. Are there any such sites available? Care to share?

This Virtual Learning Network website has a link to Hot Potatoes which enables me to create interactive multiple choice, short answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering & gap-fill exercises for the World Wide Web.

If you are looking for fresh ideas or resources in teaching the English Language, perhaps the following link might help : Classroom Resource Centre

Hope you will find the above useful.

Interactive Images for Multimedia

On reflection from the article "A short analysis of Verbal and Visual Elements in the English of World Wide Web Pages", I am more aware of the terminologies used relating to the main features of Web design. Most importantly, the ingredients to creating an interactive type of communicative exchanges through Web pages. In addition, I have found the following link to be very useful in providing us with interactive images for our assignments and lesson plans. Do let me know if it was useful.

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/multimedia_gallery/multimedia_gallery.html
http://www.tasi.ac.uk/advice/using/using_capturing.html

There is also this following article entitled "The preferences of young children for images used in dynamic graphical interfaces in computer-assisted English vocabulary learning" doi:10.1016/j.displa.2005.06.002 which serves as a very useful background knowledge for language teachers to consider using dynamic interactive images during their delivery of lessons.

Instructional Design - An introduction

Summarising what I have read, Instructional Design is the whole process of analysing learning needs and goals with a development of a delivery system to meet these needs. From the following link,

http://www.gdrc.org/info-design/instruct/instruct.html

it is very useful to know the taxonomies of Instructional Design which acts as a framework for us in developing the delivery system. In addition, factors that affect learning in all of us must be considered so that the delivery system can be as effective and efficient as possible. Personally, I find this website very useful in planning my lessons and resources as I introduce different forms of multimedia to my pupils.