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University of Missouri-Columbia University of Missouri  

Educational Technologies at Missouri
A division of the Office of the Provost

Finding Reusable Instructional Materials

Some people call them learning objects* -- others call them modules, or small knowledge chunks, or instructional objects. Whatever the phrase, the definition often becomes quite broad. Recently, the terms “open courseware” and “open content” have also been connected with this concept. An excellent document about Open Content Resources is also available in the Teaching Toolbox. Whatever these digital works are called, they are intended to provide effective explanations or examples of content that can be replicated for future use. Being able to easily find these applicable resources can be helpful for instructors – particularly those teaching a course for the first time.

These digital materials are often held within repository databases that are organized; however, the ease of searching will vary. If you have not had desired results in finding materials via a web search engine, then you might want to explore some of the repositories. Look for ones that are user-friendly and easy to navigate, have various levels of searches, allow submissions, permit comments or reviews, provide information for evaluating quality or appropriateness, and has tools to create personal collections. Note also that not all materials or repositories are free, and they may have differing licensing procedures. Also, some repositories offer fee-based services that institutions can buy into at varying levels to involve their faculty or add functionality at the local level.

*Note that the term "Learning Objects" is also the name of a company that produces the blog and wiki tool MU currently has installed in Blackboard. This is unrelated to the more general usage of the term being discussed in this document.

Benefits of Using Repositories

  • Usually web-based and do not require special technology
  • Access to a large, searchable collection of online teaching and learning materials as well as comments or information to help evaluate
  • Contributions allow faculty to gain recognition for their instructional materials
  • Contributions promote the scholarship of teaching and learning in a peer-reviewed venue
  • Contributions provide a way to get feedback about instructional materials.

Limitations of Repositories

  • Some learning objects require special browser plug-ins or media players to work
  • Instructors may have a difficult time finding learning objects available for specific needs; it takes time to browse
  • Some collections are limited in specific content fields
  • Learning objects are often designed for web-based use, in or out of the classroom.

Explore Example Repositories and Resources (in alphabetical order)

  • Apple Learning Interchange — User’s Guide -http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/collection.php?collection=231
  • BioResearch - http://biome.ac.uk (Topics - health and life sciences)
  • Connexions - http://cnx.org/  (Topics – business, humanities, mathematics and statistics, science and technology, social sciences)
  • Digital Scriptorium – http://www.scriptorium.columbia.edu (Topics - medieval and renaissance manuscripts)
  • EdNA – Australia’s free online network for educators - http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go (Topics – teaching and learning)
  • Fathom Archive, Columbia University - http://www.fathom.com  (Topics – arts and humanities, business and economics, education, global affairs, health and medicine, history and society, law and politics, science and nature, technology)
  • Forum Network - http://forum-network.org  (Topics – art & architecture, culture & identity, history, PBS & NPR programs)
  • Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM) Project  - http://www.thegateway.org, sponsored by NEA (Topics – arts, educational technology, foreign languages, health, language arts, mathematics, philosophy, physical education, religion, science, social studies, vocational education)
  • GeoGebra - http://www.geogebra.org/cms (Topic - mathematics)
  • Geotechnical, Rock and Water Resources Library (GROW) - http://www.grow.arizona.edu
  • ide@s, University of Wisconsin System and the University of Wisconsin-Extension - http://ideas.wisconsin.edu/#  (Topics - agricultural education, art and design education, bilingual Spanish, business and info. tech., dance, ESL, early learner, environmental education, family and consumer sci., health education, info. and tech. literacy, language arts, marketing education, mathematics, music education, personal financial literacy, physical education, professional development, science, service-learning, social studies, special education, technology education, theatre education, world languages)
  • iLumina – http://www.ilumina-dlib.org (Topics - science, mathematics, technology, and engineering)
  • Intute – http://www.intute.ac.uk/resources.html (Topics - agriculture, food and forestry, architecture and planning, biological sciences, business and management, communication and media studies, creative and performing arts, education and research methods, engineering, geography and environment, humanities, law, mathematics and computer science, medicine including dentistry, modern languages and area studies, nursing, midwifery and allied health, physical sciences, psychology, social sciences, veterinary medicine)
  • LOLA Exchange – Learning Objects, Learning Activities - http://www.lolaexchange.org (Topics – mathematics, science and technology, social sciences, business, arts, education, humanities)
  • Maricopa Learning Exchange - http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/mlx/index.php (Topics – accounting, anthropology, art, biology, business, chemistry, communication, computers, dental hygiene, economics, education, English, ESL, geography, geology, health, humanities, language, management, math, medical, music, nursing, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, reading, religious studies, sociology, storytelling, technology, writing)
  • MERLOT -- Multimedia Educational Resource for Online Learning and Teaching - www.merlot.org (Biology, business, chemistry, engineering, health science, history, information technology, mathematics, music, physics, psychology, teacher education, , world languages) Note: MERLOT may be accessed from any content area in Blackboard. The MERLOT Search Tool provides access to the repository and an easy tool for linking the object.
  • MIT Libraries DSpace - http://dspace.mit.edu (MIT research in digital form – includes preprints, technical reports, working papers, theses, conference papers, images, and more)
  • OpenCourseWare (MIT) - http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html (Topics – architecture and planning, engineering, health sciences and technology, humanities, arts, and social sciences, management, science, physical education and recreation, and more)
  • The Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) - http://www.dlese.org (Topics – agricultural science, atmospheric science, biology, chemistry, climatorogy, cryology, ecology, educational theory and practice, environmental scince, forestry, geographical sciences, geological sciences, ocean sciences)
  • The Harvey Project - http://harveyproject.org (Topic - human physiology)
  • WolframAlpha, knowledge engine that performs computations - http://www.wolframalpha.com (Topics – mathematics, statistics and data analysis, physics, chemistry, materials, engineering, astronomy, earth sciences, life sciences, technological world, transportation, computational sciences, web and computer systems, units and measures, money and finance, dates and times, places and geography, socioeconomic data, weather, health and medicine, food and nutrition, words and linguistics, culture and media, people and history, education, organizations, sports and games, music, colors)

Advanced Reading
The Instructional Use of Learning Objects (2002) - http://www.reusability.org/read Note: This classic textbook can be read online for free. The chapters are under the Open Publication License and the book has been edited by David Wiley.

 References