Distance Educator Article--Baha

Sarah Baha
EDTEC 596
Fall 2009
Article Review

Distance Educator Online Article Review:
An Exploratory Study into the Efficacy of Learning Objects
Nicholas W. Farha, Indiana State University

Using Reusable Learning Objects has recently become a hot topic around the office among both Instructional Designers and Developers. With the economy spiraling down the drain, we have experienced travel bans for both trainers and learners. We are forced to do more with less, and at a distance. We have piloted some training programs recently using an online learning tool called WebEX. In striving to make the most out of learning and complete the design and development process in the most efficient way possible, we started to talk about things like reusability and learning objects. In selecting to read the study on learning objects, featured on Distance Educator, I was hoping to gain some valuable insight to take back to work. While I do think the study offered some tidbits of useful knowledge, I found it to be mostly riddled with generalizations and weak conclusions.

The take-aways from the article are the following:
*There is little research to verify the efficacy of learning objects.
*Learning objects are subject-matter specific items that are based on technology, or multimedia, that can be reused or combined with other learning objects.
*Learning objects are especially useful in online learning environments.
*Learning objects can create more interaction for the learner.
*Learning objects can be reused with other digital entities or even as a means of collaborating with other to produce new forms of training or learning experiences.