Learning objects

I did not know that sharing learning objects was a "formal" practice, rather I thought it was something that just occurred naturally. A natural phenomenon of sorts. Since teachers have been using the internet, they have been pulling pre-developed resources from other teachers, sharing lessons, and collaborating on instruction. Teachers did this before there was internet, but (like with all communication) internet access has enhanced it. I have been using learning objects since I began teaching, only I did not know that was what they were called. I use videos from teacher tube, resources from other teachers websites and files, simulations provided by educational organizations regularly in this class. The idea that all of this could be compiled and organized into a single-large database is astonishing. What a wonderful and valuable resource this would be. In a sense, the students would be benefiting from the collaborative efforts of teachers across the country and all over the world. Two heads are better than one right? How about thousands? This also can serve as an aid to students with different learning styles because they are receiving content in various forms. One barrier to most of the modules we have discussed in this course is that such models take a great deal of time and perhaps even expertise to develop. If there were a bank of learning objects from which to pull these modules, that would certainly fix such a problem.

Of course, the barrier with this idea is not that few teachers would utilize learning objects. More so, the barrier may be that few teachers would be willing to develop, share and contribute learning objects. It's easy to utilize a resource. It's harder, and takes more time and effort, to give back and contribute.