How Digital Repositories are Revolutionizing the Learning Enterprise: The Synthesis of Instructional Design, Learning Standards, and Best Practices Bryan

How Digital Repositories are Revolutionizing the Learning Enterprise:

The Synthesis of Instructional Design, Learning Standards, and Best Practices

Bryan D. Eldridge, M.Ed.Chief Learning Officer

http://www.cannonlearning.com

© 2006, Cannon Learning Solutions LLC

Copyright © 2006 Cannon Learning Solutions LLC

Educational Enterprise Challenges

• Defining learning objects in a way that makes sense for your organization

• Managing the contribution, discovery, and quality of your organization’s learning objects (ensuring you have “good” learning objects and that people can find them!)

• Finding and utilizing an approach that will get you there


Defining Learning Objects

• Learning objects, Schmearning objects• What exactly is a learning object?

o 15 minutes of instruction?o No longer than 20-45 minutes of instruction?o Any digital asset?o Content aggregated around any learning

objective?o Content aggregated against terminal learning

objectives?

• How do learning standards influence how learning objects are defined?

• Who is right and does it matter?



The truth is, a learning object is in the eye of the e-holder.



• Who will search for and use these learning objects?

• How will the learning objects be used?o Classroom, self-paced, stand-alone, part of a

blended offering, etc.

• Who will create/contribute the learning objects?

• Are your responses too broad to provide concise answers to these questions?


Definition Convergence

• Many of our large consortia clients have found it helpful to define learning objects in a way that meets their specific needs, audiences, and environments.

• For example- A learning object should contain:o A learning objectiveo Content that supports the objectiveo An opportunity for the learner to measure his/her

mastery of the objective (e.g., a “task”)o Summary and feedbacko Minimum SCORM interoperabilityo LOM-level metadata


Definition Importance

• You know what you are getting:o Facilitates discovery

• Allows the support of large-scale production and contribution:o Template creationo Ability to distribute work tasks efficientlyo Exemplary learning objects to serve as models

• A learning objective-based definition that facilitates the creation of pre-tests and post-tests:o Can support content sequencing and navigation

strategies


Now what?

Now that there is a standard way to define learning objects, how do you ensure that they are easily discovered/reused and that they enhance instruction?


Post-definition: Next Steps

• You need to operationalize the concepts of discoverability and quality.

• Define discoverability for your organization:o Eliminate duplication of effort.o Make searches easy.o Simplify browsing.o Tag content with the appropriate metadata.


Post-definition: Next Steps

• Define quality learning objects:o Do they contain and cover quality and/or

“approved”objectives?o Does the content support the objective? Is it also

accurate AND appropriate for the intended audience?

o Does the learning object exhibit good instructional design? For example: Do the interactions have clear instructions? Do the interactions provide good feedback?


Learning Stewardship

• Once you understand how your organization needs to define quality and discoverability, you should begin building a plan that involves a digital repository to manage your assets.

• You need to understand the interplay between your organization’s content development, content management, and content delivery activities.


Federation

LOISD

Creative

Technical

Metadata

Content Package

Interoperability

•Data Model•API

SCORM

LORLOR

RegistryClients

Learners

BureauAdmin

SysAdmin

ISD

Creative

Technical

Link

Authoring Templates

API

workflows

metadata

version control

DRM

LOR

Publish

LMS

Access & Discovery

© 2005, Cannon Learning Solutions LLC


LOR “Official” Definition

An LOR is any collection of resources that are accessible via a network without prior knowledge of the structure of the collection.

Repositories may hold actual assets or the metadata that describe assets.

IMS Global Learning Consortium, Inc – Digital Repositories Specification


LOR Functional Definition• A learning object repository (LOR):

o Is a strategic technology which underpins a blended learning content design and development environment

o Manages and stores learning objects, their associated deliverables, and related operational assets

o Provides workflows designed to automate business processes and operationalize key business characteristics (e.g., quality)

o Is built to and supports common industry standards and specifications (e.g., SCORM, IMS, CORDRA, S1000D, etc.)


Learning Object-Related Acronyms

• LO = Learning object• LOR = Learning object repository• LORI = Learning Object Review Instrument• GLORI = Global learning object repository

initiative• GLORY, GLORY, Hallelujah! = Consortia of

evangelical learning content in the Southern United States


Why are LORs important?

• New DoD Instruction requirements:o U.S. DoD learning

content must conform to SCORM.

o Content must be placed in an accessible, searchable repository.

o Before developing new content, search repositories for reusable, re-purposable content.


Learning Objects and LORs

• An LOR helps fulfill the promise of learning objects through discoverability:o Stores metadata (allowing for metadata-based

searches)o Presents logical taxonomy (facilitates browsing

and federating content)o Allows classification by publication type (for

searching, browsing, and workflows)



• Excellence in instruction:o Provides for flexible development of workflows

that support: Customization by publication type Custom SMTP notifications Branching

o Supports an organization’s ISD processeso Provides quality rubrics for submissions of

completed content Good for evaluating content from third-party content

vendors



• Stores best practices:o Exampleso Learning object templateso Templates for other publication typeso Tips & trickso LOM definitions and metadata tagging guidelineso Development guidelines


Best Practices

1.Do not simply look before you leap- learn before you leap.


Best Practices

2.Write sound requirements BEFORE you even think about talking to a software vendor.


Best Practices

3.Look for “lighthouses” that match your organization’s profile.


Client Observations

• Software vendors sell licenses, while clients want to buy solutions – this is problematic.

• Clients understand they need to manage their digital assets but often do not understand their EXISTING learning content environment.o A new digital library “solution” does not negate the

fact that they have not addressed a cadre of existing issues.

• Organizations typically do not manage their learning approach in an ongoing and structured manner.


Internal Observations

• Initially, we focused our service offerings on “keystroke” training, leaving the remaining work for the clients.

• Clients quickly recognized that different roles within their organization required different training.

• Ultimately, training was only a small (but important!) part of the overall service delivery for a successful digital repository solution.


Configuration Meta-framework

• Collection of individual specialized frameworks

• NOT a prescriptive treatment• Focused on a flexible framework to support

multiple methodologies - NOT a specific methodology

• Powerful tool for planning and internal communication

• The surprise: Initially, clients want to complete most of the framework before choosing a digital repository/LOR solution.


Configuration Meta-framework


Plotting a Path

P3TM

• Philosophyo System of beliefs: What are the truths

about the client’s digital asset management needs?

• Principleso Answers to the questions that help the

client support its philosophy

• Policieso Creates the guidelines and rules that

operationalize and enforce the principles


ELFTM Approach


ELF and ▲ELF

• At the completion of the first path through the ELF and ▲ELF, the organization should have:o A thorough documentation of the their business

processes (workflows), roles, and publication types (the who, the what, the how, and the where)

o An understanding of what it is going to take to both operationalize and maintain the desired state described by the ELF


One TOUCHTM: Overview

• Systematic approach that can happen in tandem with ELF and accounts for non-logical specifications:o Taxonomyo Version control/controlled editing/configuration

managemento Metadata specificationso LOM schemas

• Can TOUCHTM:o Taxonomyo Organizationo Userso Contento Hierarchy


Completing the Snapshot

• At the completion of the first pass through TOUCH:o The client should now have all of the data for the

baseline configuration of their digital repository solution:

• Content production requirements• Content taxonomies• Content metadata• User definition• Permissions• Configuration management and version control

requirements


Configuration Meta-frameworkTM


Lighthouses

• Profile:o Large for-profit, private universityo 400 campuses within North Americao Needed to build and implement a synthesized

development process for onsite, online, and blended course content

• Challenges:o The three disparate groups had never worked

together before.o Stakeholders understood little about learning

standards, although they had a stronger grasp on learning technologies.

o They were also in the middle of an LMS selection.


Lighthouses

• Profile:o Statewide consortia of 34 colleges and

universitieso Needed to build an exit strategy for content that

supported standardso Needed to support focus on both pre-service and

in-service teacherso Needed to be a central repository for accessible

content

• Challenges:o Could only commit one resource during first year

of implementation


Lighthouses

• Profile:o Military graduate schoolo Needed to meet DoD instructionso Needed to support remote soldierso Needed to support ad-hoc program developmento Needed to support faculty development and

contributions

• Challenges:o Strong resistance to change from instructional

designerso Management did not understand the level of effort

required to reach conformance.


Lessons Learned

• Clients embrace/adhere to the structure.• Clients need to be committed and realistic to

make any enterprise solution successful.• A defined framework makes it easier to set

and maintain expectations.• Sample deliverables in tandem with the

framework make for a quick start.• This ENTIRE field is truly still in its infancy!


Wrap-up

Q&A


Notice

Copyright ©2006 Cannon Learning Solutions LLC All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Cannon Learning Solutions.

Configuration Meta-Framework, Enterprise Learning Framework (ELF), Delta Enterprise Learning Framework (▲ELF or dELF), One Touch, TOUCH, and P3 are certification marks of Cannon Learning Solutions LLC.

Requests for written permission should be directed to:

Cannon Learning Solutions LLC 649-4 South Milledge Avenue Athens, Georgia 30605 [email protected]

Documents

How Digital Repositories are Revolutionizing the Learning Enterprise: The Synthesis of Instructional Design, Learning Standards, and Best Practices Bryan