Guidelines for Developing Learning Object Repositories

Abstract

We present guidelines for designing and developing a repository for the storage and exchange of instructional resources, as well as considerations for the development of the resources to be included in the repository. We elaborate on the constraints that design teams may typically face and the tradeoffs they make to ensure that users utilize the system. The guidelines and decision points we present center around common issues discussed in the learning object literature as problematic and salient to the design, development, and implementation of learning objects and object repositories. These themes are terminology, granularity, reusability, and object sharing. The guidelines we present stem from the creation of an online shareable content support system for faculty within a department of early childhood education. The types of issues and solutions we illuminate are applicable across varied educational contexts and content areas.