Learning Objects to Enrich Your Classroom

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Learning Objects to Enrich Your Classroom

• WEMA/Brainstorm 2006
• March 7, 2006
• Susan Cramer -- UW Oshkosh
• JoAnn Carr -- UW Madison

http//asimov.coehs.uwosh.edu/cramer/
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What are learning objects?

• Instructional materials found on the Internet
  that can be used to illustrate, support,
  supplement or assess student learning.
• They are small in size, and can take on a variety
  of different shapes, formats, and purposes.
• For example..

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• They could be a picture of the water cycle.

http//www.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/images/ocp2003/WaterC
ycle-optimized.jpg
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Or, a website with all sorts of references.

• Sea World
• A great site for information on marine mammals,
  other animals, fish, birds or ecosystems

http//www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/cal
ifornia-sea-lion/index.htm
http//www.seaworld.org/animal-info/index.htm
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• http//www.si.umich.edu/chico/instrument/

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Materials should be short in duration, 2-15
minutes in length, and should be used to support
the understanding of a concept or process.

• For example a short video clip of how hydrogen
  fuel cells work.

http//science.howstuffworks.com/fuel-cell2.htm
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• They may also include reference articles,
  statistical data, or first person accounts.

http//www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/migra
te/cps2004.html
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When and how did your family arrive here?
http//ellisisland.org/immexp/wseix_2_3.asp
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http//www.ushmm.org/
Introduction to the Holocaust Holocaust
Encyclopedia What is Genocide? Personal
Histories Mapping the Holocaust Online
Exhibitions
Special Focus Museum Exhibitions Traveling
Exhibitions Scholarship
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http//www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/phistor
ies/
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• The common thread to all these instructional
  materials is they support student learning, are
  available on the Internet, and can be used in a
  variety of contexts depending upon the intended
  learning outcomes.

They likewise can be used by multiple people in
multiple locations simultaneously, and can be
accessed over and over without time or location
constraints.
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• They can be presented to an entire class but
  their true power comes when individual students
  access the materials to support their current
  learning needs.

What did the teacher say today about mitosis? I
know, I can go to these websites and review the
concept myself until I understand it!
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• Cellsalive
• http//Cellsalive.com/ A great site for
  illustrating

meiosis, mitosis, cell biology, microbiology,
immunology, microscopy, plant cells, animal cells
and more.
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Tutorials and simulations are most helpful.

• Just enough,
• Just in time,
• Just for you

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• In mathematics, two great sources are
  Illuminations and
• Shodor (next page)

http//illuminations.nctm.org/
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• http//www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/

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http//www.shodor.org/interactivate/elementary/ind
ex.html
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http//www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/tra
nsform/index.html
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• English language learners as well as students
  studying other languages can get help with how to
  pronounce a word or translation right on the web

• http//www.colby.edu/personal/b/bknelson/exercises
  /).

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Or, you can travel the world from your
classroom.
Applied Technology Fine Arts Foreign
Language Health/PE Language Arts Math
Library Media Science Social Studies Special
Ed Technology Online Tutorials

• http//www.uen.org/utahlink/tours/

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http//www.sandiegozoo.org/zoo/ex_panda_station.ht
ml
San Diego Zoo
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Yellowstone National Park Wolf news, sightings,
history, packs, captive wolves, a wolf map, and
audio clip of a wolf howling.
(http//www.yellowstone-natl-park.com/wolf.htm)
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• Wow, these are great resources!
• How can we find them?
• Theres lots of stuff out there and I dont have
  much time.

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• One can find learning objects in a myriad of
  locations. A Google search on learning objects
  done as this presentation was being written
  returned 79 million hits. A second search using
  learning objects fractions yielded 2.47 million
  hits while learning objects fractions middle
  school yielded 1.3 million hits.

http//www.google.com/
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• Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM) A
  Consortium effort to provide educators with quick
  and easy access to thousands of educational
  resources found on various federal, state,
  university, non-profit, and commercial Internet
  sites
• Contains detailed descriptions of over 49,000
  educational resources.

http//www.thegateway.org
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View Full Collections Teaching Practices (44),
Lesson Ideas (103), Virtual Field Trips (72),
Digital Documentaries (31) Leadership Practices
(9 ), Professional Growth Programming
(14), Expert Profiles (2), Organizational
Profiles (3) Technology Showcases (7)

• http//ali.apple.com/ali/resources.shtml

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IDEAS Search For Resources By Grade Level PK, K,
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Higher
Ed., Adult/Continuing Ed. Subject Language Arts,
Math, Science, Social Studies, Information and
Technology Literacy, Art and Design Education,
Music Education, Environmental Education, More
subjects... Wisconsin Model Academic
Standards Language Arts Grade 4, Grade 8, Grade
12 Math Grade 4, Grade 8, Grade 12 Etc.
http//www.ideas.wisconsin.edu/
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• Wisconsin's Information Network for Successful
  Schools

http//www2.dpi.state.wi.us/sig/practices/high_2.a
sp
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• Wisconsin Online Resource Center
• Materials developed primarily by instructors from
  the Wisconsin Technical College System
• 2, 025 objects online with 68 more in
  development.

http//wisc-online.com/
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• Seeks to support primarily higher education
  students and faculty with over 10,000 materials
  catalogued.
• Unique features are peer review, assignments, and
  member collections.

http//www.merlot.org/)
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• Library of Congress
• Has fantastic materials including historic maps,
  photos, documents, audio and video clips, virtual
  tours of galleries, multilingual resources on
  world culture and more.

Riverfront in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, showing a
bridge spanning the Milwaukee River near the
Pabst building
http//memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cdn19./tem
p/ammem_eb1T_at__at__at_mdbmcc,gottscho,detr,nfor,wpa,a
ap,cwar,bbpix,cowellbib,calbkbib,consrvbib,bdsbib,
dag,fsaall,gmd,pan,vv,presp,varstg,suffrg,nawbib,h
oryd,wtc,toddbib,mgw,ncr,ngp,musdibib,hlaw,papr,lh
bumbib,rbpebib,lbcoll,alad,hh,aaodyssey,magbell,bb
cards,dcm,raelbib,runyon,dukesm,lomaxbib,mtj,gottl
ieb,aep,qlt,coolbib,fpnas,aasm,scsm,denn,relpet,am
ss,aaeo,mffbib,afc911bib,mjm,mnwp,rbcmillerbib,mol
den,ww2map,hawp,omhbib,rbaapcbib,mal,ncpsbib,ncpm,
lhbprbib,ftvbib,afcreed,aipn,cwband,flwpabib,wpapo
s,cmns,psbib,pin,coplandbib,cola,tccc,curt,mharend
t,lhbcbbib,eaa,haybib,mesnbib,fine,cwnyhs,svybib,m
morse,afcwwgbib,mymhiwebib,uncall,mfd,afcwip,mtaft
,manz,llstbib,fawbib,berl,fmuever,cdn,upboverbib,m
ussm,cic,afcpearl,awh,awhbib,sgp,wright,lhbtnbib,a
fcesnbib,hurstonbib,mreynoldsbib,spaldingbib,sgpro
to
http//loc.gov/
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• University of Wisconsin Digital Collections
• Contains a wealth of digitized materials from the
  UW System libraries you can use to support
  instruction. A sample of collection titles
  includes Africa Focus Sights and Sounds of a
  Continent, Great Lakes Maritime History Project,
  Icelandic Online Dictionary and Readings,
  Illustrated Shakespeare, SouthEast Asian Images
  and Texts, and Wisconsin Public Land Survey
  Records Original Field Notes.

http//uwdc.library.wisc.edu/collections.html
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http//www.teachingbooks.net/
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Connect with an author at
http//www.teachingbooks.net/athr_upcls.cgi
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• Movie with author speaking about self
• Movie of author reading book

http//www.teachingbooks.net/search.cgi http//www
.teachingbooks.net/spec_athr.cgi?nameRyan2C20Pa
m20Mu26232413Boz
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• NASA also has available a wealth of instructional
  materials.

(http//www.nasa.gov/home/)
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But, does technology increase student learning?

• Researchers report mixed findings but overall it
  has been found that teaching and learning with
  technology has a small .410, positive,
  significant (plt.001) effect on student outcomes
  when compared to traditional instruction

(Waxman, Lin, Michko, 2003).
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• When we think of using technology in the
  classroom, use can be divided into two different
  types. Learning from technology and learning
  with technology

(Reeves 1998 cited in Ringstaff and Kelley, 2002)
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• When one learns from technology, the technology
  is acting as a tutor or teacher. Drill and
  practice software fits into this category as
  would a math fact game or the American Sign
  Language Dictionary site on the Internet. Use of
  these resources, learning objects, can lead to
  increased student learning. In The Learning
  Return On Our Educational Technology Investment
  A Review of Findings from Research, Ringstaff and
  Kelley (2002) reported computer-assisted
  instruction and drill-and-practice software can
  significantly improve students scores on
  standardized achievement tests (Kulik, 1994
  Sivin-Kachala Bialo, 2000), in all major
  subject areas, preschool through higher education
  (Coley, 1997) (p. 5).

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• Wenglinsky (1998 in Archer, 1998), in his study
  of 4th and 8th graders who took the math section
  of the 1996 National Assessment of Educational
  Progress, reported that 4th graders whose
  teachers used instructional computers mostly for
  math/learning games posted an achievement gain
  equal to roughly 15 percent of a grade level (p.
  3). What is happening is that students are
  building fluency in a specific skill.

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Learning with technology.

• Wenglinsky (1998 cited in Valdez, McNabb,
  Foertsch, Anderson, Hawkes Raack, 2000) found
  that after adjusting for class size, teacher
  qualifications, and socioeconomics, technology
  had more of an impact in middle schools than it
  did in elementary schools. He found that in
  eighth grade, where computers were used for
  simulations and applications, students had higher
  test scores than where computers were used for
  drill and practice. The differences were the
  equivalent of half a grade level.

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• What is occurring is technology can facilitate
  deep exploration and integration of information,
  high-level thinking, and profound engagement by
  allowing students to design, explore, experiment,
  access information, and model complex phenomena

These new circumstances and opportunities not
the technology on its own can have a direct and
meaningful impact on student achievement
(Goldman, Cole, and Syer, 1999 cited in NCREL
1999, p. 6).
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• Goldman et al (cited in CEO Forum, 2001) found
  that students who employed simulations,
  microcomputer-based laboratories, and video to
  connect science instruction to real-world
  problems outperformed students who employed
  traditional instructional methods alone.

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How do students use and want to use technology?

• They use the Internet as
• a virtual textbook and reference library,
• a virtual tutor and study shortcut,
• virtual study group,
• virtual guidance counselor, and
• virtual locker-backpack-notebook.

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But, what they find in schools is.

• Educational use of the Internet is most likely to
  occur outside of the school without direction of
  teachers.
• When teachers do integrate the Internet into
  schoolwork, the quality of the assignments tends
  to be poor and uninspiring.
• And, use of the Internet is not required for use
  in homework.

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• On the whole, students are frustrated and
  increasingly dissatisfied by the digital
  disconnect they are experiencing at school.
• They cannot conceive of doing schoolwork without
  Internet access yet they are not being given many
  opportunities in school to take advantage of the
  Internet (Levin Arafeh, 2002, p. v).

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• Learning objects are one way to increase student
  learning and engagement.
• What are you waiting for?
• Whats your next unit?
• What learning objects can make it come alive?

Feel free to download this presentation for use
in your school. If you do, please drop us an
email so we can document its usage.
Thanks! Cramer_at_uwosh.edu http//asimov.coehs.uwosh
.edu/cramer/
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Research References

• Archer, J. 1998. The link to higher scores.
  Education Week. Online. Available
  http//www.edweek.org/sreports/tc98/ets/ets-n.htm
  (accessed 9/29/03) now available
  http//counts.edweek.org/sreports/tc98/ets/ets-n.h
  tm (accessed 8/5/05).
• CEO Forum School Technology and Readiness Report
  Year 4. 2001. Key building blocks for student
  achievement in the 21st century Assessment,
  alignment, accountability, access, analysis.
  Author. Online. Available http//www.ceoforum.o
  rg/downloads/report4.pdf
• Goldman, S., Cole, K., Syer, C. 1999. The
  technology/content dilemma Online. Available
  http//www.ed.gov/Technology/TechConf/1999/whitepa
  pers/paper4.html. Cited in North Central Regional
  Educational Laboratory. 1999. Critical Issue
  Using Technology to improve student achievement.
  Author. Online. Available http//www.ncrel.org/s
  drs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm
• Levin, D. Arafeh, S. 2002. The Digital
  Disconnect The Widening Gap Between
  Internet-Savvy Students and Their Schools.
  Accessed 1/7/05 http//www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PI
  P_Schools_Internet_Report.pdf
• North Central Regional Educational Laboratory
  1999. Critical Issue Using Technology to improve
  student achievement. Author. Online. Available
  http//www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/tec
  hnlgy/te800.htm
• Reeves, T. C. 1998. The impact of media and
  technology in schools A research report prepared
  for The Bertelsmann Foundation. Available
  http//www.athensacademy.org/instruct/media_tech/r
  eeves0.html
• Ringstaff, C. and Kelley, L. 2002. The Learning
  Return On Our Educational Technology Investment
  A Review of Findings from Research. WestEd RTEC.
  Online. Available http//www.WestEd.org/online_
  pubs/learning_return.pdf
• Valdez, G., McNabb, M. Foertsch, Anderson, M.
  Hawkes M., Raack, L. 2000. Computer-based
  technology and learning Evolving uses and
  expectations. Phase III Data_Driven Virtual
  Learning. (page 8 of 10) Accessed 6/3/05.
  Online. Available (full report)
  http//www.ncrel.org/tplan/cbtl/toc.htm
• Waxman, H. C., Lin, M-F, Michko, G.M. 2003. A
  meta-analysis of the effectiveness of teaching
  and learning with technology on student outcomes.
  Learning Point Associates. Accessed 3/21/05.
  Online. Available http//www.ncrel.org/tech/eff
  ects2/waxman.pdf.
• Wenglinsky, H. 1998. Does it compute? The
  relationship between educational technology and
  student achievement in mathematics. Princeton,
  NJ Educational Testing Service. Retrieved August
  5, 2005 from ftp//ftp.ets.org/pub/res/technolog.p
  df.