Learning Objects and Games at MERLOT Conf.

I am spending this week attending the MERLOT International Conference in Ottawa, Canada. MERLOT stands for Multimedia Educational Resources for Learning and Online Teaching. See http://www.merlot.org/ . I think of MERLOT as a large repository, and that it is, but I am also interested in seeing what else it is.

Today I attended two half-day workshops. Both were conducted at the University of Ottawa. One workshop concerned choosing and assessing learning objects and the other educational games. The first workshop presented by Liesel Knaack, an Asst. Professor from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, which she referred to as a laptop university.

Dr. Knaack developed a very useful web site regarding developing learning objects. See http://faculty.uoit.ca/knaack/cualo/index.html. She is also developing a neat site called Learning Object on Learning Objects (still under construction). See http://innovation.dc-uoit.ca/learningobjects/cualo/CUALO_content.html

I hope she keeps these linked, but in case they disappears I have included some of her reference links below.

Two examples of sites that use learning objects (the Plagiarism one is particularly good.)

Learning Object 1: Plagiarism Prevention- http://innovation.dc-uoit.ca/plagiarism_lo/index2.html [This link opens in a new window.]

Learning Object 2: Pharmacokinetics - http://icarus.med.utoronto.ca/lo/pharmacology9/index.swf

Some general links related to learning objects:

• A Teacher's Dozen - Fourteen General, Research-Based Principles for Improving Higher Learning in Our Classrooms by Thomas Anthony Angelo - http://aitt.acadiau.ca/research/Best_Teaching/teachersdozen1.pdf
• A Teacher's Dozen - Summary of Article - http://faculty.uoit.ca/knaack/cualo/attachments/A%20Teachers%20Dozen%20one%20pager.pdf
• David Wiley - The Instructional Use of Learning Objects - http://www.reusability.org/read/
• Pithamber Polsani - The Use and Abuse of Reusable Learning Objects - http://jodi.ecs.soton.ac.uk/Articles/v03/i04/Polsani/
• Claire Bradley & Tom Boyle - Students' Use of Learning Objects - http://imej.wfu.edu/articles/2004/2/01/index.asp
• Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects - Volume 1- http://ijklo.org/volume1.html; Volume 2 - http://ijklo.org/
• Wikipedia - Definition of a Learning Object - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_object
• Using Learning Objects in Four Instructional Architectures - Chuck Barritt http://www.svispi.org/networker/2002/0702a1.htm

These were all good, but a number of the learning object repositories she recommended were not open like MERLOT, but closed except to a particular group. Surely someone must have a list of “open” learning object repositories around the world.

The second workshop regarding educational games was conducted by David Kaufman and Louise Sauvé, two Canadian academics connected with an organization called Simulation and Advanced Gaming Environments (SAGE) for learning. See http://www.sageforlearning.ca/.

Related to their work is something called Educational Games Central. See http://www.savie.qc.ca/carrefourjeux/an/. Apparently, you can develop frame games using their templates using this site. I’ve registered the University of South Alabama, but it takes a couple of days to get everything clear. It seems worth looking into.

A couple other related sites I bumped into while surfing during the workshop today are…

• International Journal of Intelligent Games & Simulation.See http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~cm1822/ijigs.htm
• Digital Games Research Association. See http://www.digra.org/
• Cyberchase - PBS games. See http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/games.html

And, last but not least---- the latest version of a narcissist competitive video site—Google Idol. The competitions are on two categories, web cams and music videos. I wonder if sites like this can be considered a MMOG? I could argue that either pro or con.
See http://googleidol.com/