HCL Learning Objects Lab

Before you begin creating a learning object, you might find it helpful to consider important details pertaining to copyright, pedagogy, permissions, privacy, production, publication, and reuse. The information on this page is a good place to start.

Be aware and observant of copyright law and fair use guidelines. A good place to begin is the Harvard Office of General Counsel's Copyright Resources website.

A best practice to consider is keeping a running list of media assets (files) and permissions.  Include fields for the file name, copyright holder, and request status as a basis, and add what's appropriate for your learning object. Once your project is completed, if your learning object has a timeline (e.g. audio or video files), add a column of when each file appears in your project, as well.

For HCL librarians, a release form can be obtained from the HCL Communications office.

Regarding other libraries at Harvard, please feel free to add information:

Start with questions . . .

• Who are your students?
  Consider your students' needs and prior knowledge. In what context and type of learning environment will you be teaching? Find out as much as you can. This might be done by interviewing the professor, asking the professor to gather specific data for you, sitting in on a class from the beginning, or by interviewing students similar to your target group.
  
  See: Foster, N.F. (2007). Studying Students: the Undergraduate Research Project at the University of Rochester (also in HCL Sandbooks); Angelo, T. and Cross, K.P. (1993) Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers (also in HCL Sandbooks); Goulding, A. (1997). The Use of Focus Groups in LIS Research; Bates, J.A. (2003). Use of narrative interviewing in everyday information behavior research.
  

• What do you hope to teach them?
  What knowledge, skills, or attitudes do you hope your students will understand, perform, or feel? These are your learning goals. If you'd like to brainstorm a bit before settling on particular goals, consult "By Goal" within this website.
  
  See: Fink, L.D. (2003) Creating Significant Learning Experiences (also in HCL Sandbooks); Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1995). Understanding by Design.

• How will you know if they've learned?
  In light of your learning goals, identify what evidence from students will tell you if they have successfully learned.
  
  See: Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1995). Understanding by Design; Fink, L.D. (2003) Creating Significant Learning Experiences (also in HCL Sandbooks).

Devise a blueprint . . .

• Create and customize the pedagogy.
  In light of the evidence you'll be asking students to produce, begin brainstorming learning experiences that are likely to elicit such evidence. After sifting through and selecting ideas, create a storyboard, script, or outline that promises to realize the learning experience you have envisioned.
  
  See DVD: Koppel (2003). The Deep Dive: One Company's Secret Weapon for Innovation (in HCL Sandbooks); Fink, L.D. (2003) Creating Significant Learning Experiences (also in HCL Sandbooks); Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1995). Understanding by Design.

Begin building . . .

• Construct the learning object.
  Gather the appropriate tools and materials, and schedule any necessary meetings, then build your learning object. Sometimes, several drafts might be necessary to get it just right. Be aware and observant of copyright law and fair use guidelines.
  
  See: Harvard Office of General Counsel, Copyright Resources.
  

Invite the "inspectors" . . .

• Conduct a formative assessment.
  You may wish to hold focus groups or conduct usability interviews (perhaps using Morae on Windows Sandbox laptop #1) to test drive your learning object. Based on the feedback you gather, tweak or redesign it.
  
  See: Tullis, T. (2008). Measuring the user experience: collecting, analyzing, and presenting usability metrics; Porter, L. (2007). Library Applications of Business Usability Testing Strategies; Angelo, T. and Cross, K.P. (1993) Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers (also in HCL Sandbooks); Thomsett-Scott, B. (2006). Web Site Usability with Remote Users: Formal Usability Studies and Focus Groups; Goulding, A. (1997). The Use of Focus Groups in LIS Research.
  

Cut the ribbon . . .

• Be ready for delivery.
  Embed your learning object in an ideal location for delivery to your students and invite them to use it. If you plan to publish your learning object and make it accessible to students beyond your target class, it will need to go through a vetting process first.
  
  See: Production and Support.

And last, but not least . . .

• Conduct a summative assessment.
  Find out how effective the learning object has been toward helping your students learn.  This might be done in class via observation or clicker polling, or by soliciting oral commentary. You might also try a follow-up survey or examining student work--the proof is in the pudding! Make adjustments accordingly.
  
  See: Dillman, 2008. Internet, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: the Tailored Design Method; Angelo, T. and Cross, K.P. (1993) Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers (also in HCL Sandbooks); Tullis, T. (2008); Measuring the user experience: collecting, analyzing, and presenting usability metrics.

• Collaborate.
  At any stage in this process, please don't hesitate to contact colleagues for their ideas, feedback, and assistance.
  
  See: VITAL: Peer Mentoring.

Production timeline, Contacts. HCL Sandbox devices/software. HCL Sandbooks. Communications' camera. Experts, Consultants & Collaborators. Etc.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, your learning object will have no parallel. Even so, keep in mind that for most software, the first few multimedia projects tend to take five times longer than expected. This seems to be true for the veterans, too. Some things work brilliantly with the click of a button, but some things that really ought to, won't.

If you plan to use your learning object for a library instruction session or plan to integrate it directly into a HUID/PIN protected course iSite, then simply follow the basic development guidelines for that particular tool--no further review or special production is needed. Note: it is the responsibility for all authors creating HCL learning objects to check for cross-browser compatibilty, obtain proper permissions and release forms from the HCL Communications Office, properly attribute intellectual content, respect copyrighted materials, and obtain faculty consent whenever integrating any content into course web pages or academic department web sites.   

If your learning object is intended for a broader audience and will be added to the HCL Web, a Harvard-wide or public iSite, YouTube, Facebook, HCL LibGuides, etc., then you must partner with the Harvard College Library Learning Objects Team on the production of your learning object. They will help ensure that your tool meets basic HCL Web standards. The final version will be reviewed by the librarian's supervisor, Head of Research and Learning Technology, and Director of Communications.

courtesy suggestions for reusing colleagues learning objects as provided in the "examples" and "Showcase."

Add samples/examples that demonstrate particular ideals. Inventory the examples topically. Use another tab. Having a chart that compares different software characteristics for different types of projects. Screencast is a category folks look for.

Shared link box, recruiting contributions/suggestions from folks - add this on every page. Also invite comments more obviously. And directing librarians to research guides topically. How do we unify across HUL in cases where the e-resources menu doesn't include? Google custom search guide? Someone in HUL may be able to create a custom google search across every library's YouTube page, research guides across university - Karen. This pertains to VITAL. Karen also offered to send us RSS instructions, so VITAL can generate RSS feeds. Less is more.

Instructional design - tips for helping students to scan, not have to read so much long text. Branding - being more inclusive of HUL, not branding as HCL/Divinity, etc. Technical tips - avoiding the necessity for plugins.

iCommons will be recommending specific platforms/tools for specific purposes.

Karen mentioned an e-learning platform symposium for Harvard. - Looking at open source and licensed university-wide e-learning platforms. Upcoming at some point soon.