Ten Reasons Why

Douglas MacLeod speaking . . .

"Donut Objects Repositories"

compares model to Tim Horton stores
number of stores (repositories) 2200
number of donuts (objects) 2 million donutes
number of employees (researchers) 55,000 employees
unit cost 75 cents

business model: cheap stuff, come back often

comparison of LOR to Donut repositories
Business model: pricey stuff, don't ocme back again
communities of practice pathetic
information architecture: way too complicated

eduSource

Will create a testbed of linked and interoperable learning object repositories across Canada

Provide a forum for the ongoing development of the associated tools systems, protocols and practices that will support such an infrastructure

comparison to trading cards (some Magic-like trading card game)
uses 8-year old child as example
all of the metadata on the card
image is a mnemonic tool -- helps the "user" remember the rest of the information on the card
unit cost very cheap
communities of practice: rabid!

[graphic -- can't represent in text]
edusoure user inteface
learning objects
Search Tools Tagging Tools Packaging Tools Rights Mngmt Tools
Repository Registry Web Services Registry

will be giving eduSource away as open source [didn't mention what license]

Learning Object Repositories
compares to buildings, e.g. Nat'l Assembly in Quebec City

compares to games, Ages Beyond Myst (Cam, Chat, D'ni Guild Forums, Links, Goodies, Open Source, Stills)

what we need:
simplicity of tim hortons
fervor of yuvio(sp?) trading cards
community of online games
robustness of buildings
= long lasting impact

how do we do that
change the unit costs: e.g iTunes shows people will pay a dollar
business model: cheap stuff, come back all the time
creat rabid communties of practice
information architecture transparent, powerful, simpler
worflow: foolproof

a national network
all different kinds of content and metadata repositories
connected
content re-purposing
technical assistance
users and more users

can become an international network

David Porter...

Observatoinal Ternds
PSPS
blending of materials and locations
blending of work and life

Evolutionary Trends
just in case to just in time
job-centered world to portfolio of work
authority based learnign to experiential learning management (inst. vs. personal)
from hierarchical knowledge system to flat social knowledge systems

Learning Models

personal empowerment
formal learning
euniversities
communties of practice
p2p networks
pull learning
personal portals

Book: Wisdom Sits in Places
ethnography about place

wisdom in our domain
systemic initiatives
core technologies
standards and specs
local initiatives

Shaping Learning Object Theory

shaping object theory to meet your personal needs
you need to determine where you will play
quotes from Tom Barron, WIlliam Horton, David Wiley

Learning Object Models
granular objects
storage in databases
flexibility
customizability
interoperability
ease of use, search management
increased value through re-use

people aren't stating what the value prop for LO is
not demonstrating it either

understanding the atomic structure of object content
it's more like DNA than Lego

with regard to repurposability
important we understand at what level we can play
media objects
lessons
units of study
courses

authors/developers ---> CMS & Authoring Tools ---> Object-Based Content ---> LMS ---> Learners

only 2 or 3 LMS systems on the planet that can do that on a seamless and transparent way (didn't name them!)

output for multiple instructional methods
needs to be output for clasroom or online resources

Lessons from the web generation, e.g. Napster

users will want to
...try before they buy
...buy by the piece
...mix and match
...reshape and repurpose materials
...want to share
...publish their own mixes

Context for the web generation
standards and specifications
p2p computing
personal publishing tools

finding and using convivial tools is the tipping point

some cool tools starting to emerge

eduSplash
Recombo
Possibility Network
p2p tools: Groove, Colloquia, Magi
interesting tools for building self-managed learning environments

eduSplash
turning your laptop or workstation into a network savvy p2p repository
part of the POOL project??
open source, free download
empowering individuales
allowing them to build community around creating and storing rich objects

Recombo
integrated with MS Office
save as web page, save as SCO, save as SCORM package, send SCO to...

Where this path Leads

Possibility Network
built in Indiana
builds a personal learning assistant
web services powering a personal portal
aggregating information form a variety of post-secondary providers
a personal learning strategy designer