The Development and Implementation of Learning Objects in a Higher Education Setting

With the increase in offshore and off-campus demand for University of Tasmania degrees, lecturers have become aware of the need to develop more flexible delivery processes which add value to the student learning experience and provide teaching staff with opportunities for greater creativity in the teaching process. The three cases described will outline a model guiding Learning Object development and teaching within the School of Information Systems and will describe the process of student interaction and response to these Learning Objects. This paper describes the replacement of face-to-face lectures with the online delivery of complex learning objects, resulting in high quality outcomes for students. The development of these discrete re-usable learning objects has followed a ‘tell, show and do’ model by way of integrating a theory presentation with a practical example exercise, followed by an opportunity for individual review & application of the material within each learning object. The development of these Learning objects has been undertaken in Microsoft® Office PowerPoint® with audio narration, with files being compressed using Impatica for PowerPointTM and streamed within the University environment by WebCT Vista allowing access to all students enrolled over three local campuses as well as those enrolled interstate and overseas. The application and use of these learning objects has allowed for the concentration of face-to-face resources on highly interactive workshops that are supported by the Learning Objects, rather than on traditional lectures. The outcomes are better coverage of material in the three units, greater student satisfaction with the delivery of the unit and increased flexibility for both the students and staff.