Teall - Comments on Distance Education Article

Farha, N. W. (2009). An Exploratory Study Into The Efficacy Of Learning Objects. The Journal of Educators Online, 6(2), 1-32. Retrieved from http://www.thejeo.com/Archives/Volume6Number2/FarhaPaper.pdf

Summary
This article investigated the question of whether the use of learning objects would improve student success at achieving learning outcomes when compared to the use of traditional methods of instructions. The author defined learning objects as small, digital, self-contained learning resources that can be shared and aggregated. He further identified two additional attributes of learning objections: they are interactive and included some form of assessment.

The research examined whether students learning how to use Excel spreadsheets to calculate a loan payment were more successful when the instruction was provided via a traditional instructional materials (textbook pages - the control group) or through a learning object (an interactive lesson - the experimental group). Both were presented to students via an online learning management system.

The results showed that students in the experimental group using the interactive learning object had a higher mean score on the final assessment than those in the control group. After completing the statistical analysis, the author concluded that the differences in the mean score was statistically significant and did further analysis to rule out other possible variables that might account for the difference. The variables analyzed and eliminated were gaming experience, age, gender, and learner preference; no variables should a statistically significant difference in mean scores. The author, therefore, concluded that the difference in means scores could be attributed to the use of the learning object. Further discussion clarified additional areas of potential future investigations on the use of learning objects.

Reflection
I was surprised that the author noted that very little research on the use of learning objects had been completed. I have always associated the use of learning objects with the idea of chunking of material, and the success of teaching material in small chunks is widely accepted. This research provided support for the idea that a chunking approach could be successfully used in multimedia based learning environments.

The other idea that occurred to me is that if the use of learning objects expands it will greatly impact the traditional role of teachers and trainers. The expertise of the teacher will be discovering (and possibly developing) learning objects and then organizing them into a complete learning unit. The content will be embedded in the learning objects and the teacher’s role will become more of a manipulator of objects and less of a source of information. This could radically change what we understand teachers and instructors to be.