Reusable learning objects and repositories Greg Benfield Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development

Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development Betty Collis, Netherlands People engage in activities with resources

Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development Reusability the reusability of learning resources offers many advantages to all stakeholders in the learning process and is now considered an important factor in any learning process (Oliver 2005). Numerous national and international initiatives have been funded to investigate ways in which digital learning resources might be developed, shared and reused by teachers and learners around the world (so as to benefit from economies of scale). Behind these initiatives lies a vision of a future in which reusable resources… could comprise a new currency of exchange within a learning economy (Littlejohn & Shum 2003). Littlejohn, A. and Shum, S. B. (2003) (eds) Reusing Online Resources (special issue) Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2003, online at www- jime.opne.ac.uk/2003/1/ Oliver, R. (2005). 'Quality assurance and e-learning: blue skies and pragmatism.' ALT-J 13(3). September 2005,

Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development Reusing Online Resources From Littlejohn, A. (2003) (ed) Reusing Online Resources. Kogan Page

Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development The learning object approach

Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development

WOMDA Developed at the University of Oxford as a JISC-funded project, this site hosts a multimedia archive of digital resources related to Wilfred Owen's war poetry.

Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development RLOs: some examples 1.University of Nottingham School of Nursing Educational Technology Group (SONET) RLO CETL JORUM national RLO repository

Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development RADAR

Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development More repositories Health Education Assets Library This is a collection of multimedia resources for health colleges. It requires you to register to gain access. MERLOT MERLOT is a free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected here along with annotations such as peer reviews and assignments. Campus Alberta Repository of Educational Objects CAREO is a project supported by Alberta Learning and CANARIE that has as its primary goal the creation of a searchable, Web-based collection of multidisciplinary teaching materials SMETE Digital Libary Another resource focusing on science, mathematics, engineering and technology.

Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development RLOs: issues Littlejohn and Shum (2003) suggest seven key issues in reuse and sharing of digital resources: 1.How can digital resources be used to support learning? 2.How can resources be reused within a range of educational models? 3.Why is standardisation necessary? 4.Is there an optimum size for reusable resources? 5.Should resources retain contextual information? 6.How are educational institutions likely to change? 7.Is global sharing of resources a possibility?