Landscape and Portrait? An Ontology for Learning Objects

With the promise of customized learning and cost-efficient course development, learning objects have given higher education a new lens through which to view its primary mission-engaged education. There is much confusion, however, about what constitutes a learning object and its host repository; who is responsible for developing, cataloging, storing, and serving these repackaged bits and pieces of content; and if this emerging model has the capacity to transform teaching and learning. The facilitator of this featured session will map an ontology for learning objects comprising concepts for and relationships between the many diverse components. She will be joined by a researcher and two practitioners. The Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) is leading research in devising new models to help libraries serve people by providing economical access to knowledge through innovation and collaboration. The technical colleges in Wisconsin have collaborated with the Miami-Dade Community College to assist faculty in the creation of 1,000-plus learning objects with a "virtual" technical support team located at Fox Valley Technical College. These experts will highlight the technical and social aspects of researching, developing, and using learning objects by demonstrating and sharing examples.