The D2LLO Project: A Successful Collaborative Project Using Learning Objects

Lorna Wong UW-WhitewaterNicholle Stone UW- StoutMerlot Conference, August 2004

Who we are ..University of Wisconsin System

Is made up of :26 Institutions13 Four Years Campuses13 Freshman-Sophomore campuses and UW ExtensionCommon systemsEnterprise SISEnterprise Library Enterprise HREnterprise CMS Desire2Learn (D2L)LTDC Learning Technology Development CouncilInstructional Technologists from each campus

Adopting D2L as our CMSUWS adopted Desire2Learn as a system wide Course Management SystemThere is an immediate need to create training material for both faculty & studentsThis offers an excellent opportunity to collaborate and share resources among campuses

JELLO? D2LLO stands for D2L Learning ObjectsA project inspired by:The need for generating commonly used training material quicklyThe importance for shareable training material with flexible formatsThe enthusiasm of a group of dedicated LTDC folks to do a real application in learning objectsno, D2LLO

Forming the D2LLO group

12 instructional technologists from the campuses participated The ADL-Colab SCO Days conference in Madison on June 2003 provided an opportunity to hone technical skills, brainstorm and do group planningUWS sponsored the group to attend the conference and supported the ongoing work

D2LLO Project Goals

Create learning objects that cover all major areas of D2L for faculty TrainingKeep these learning objects small, granular, and standards conformantEnsure the LOs can easily be incorporated into training material of various formats Open these learning objects to all D2L trainers at UWS or beyond

D2LLO ProcessDivide the group into 5 teams, each with a lead person Each responsible for a functional area faculty uses

Each team maps the tasks needed to comprehensively understand the functionDecide on the granularity of each LO to match a taskCommunication during the project EmailConference callsF2F work sessions ( 3 times total)Spreadsheet for tracking LO mapping and progress

Collaborative Design & Prototype

A prototype of a learning object was designed & created as a group effortDuring our SCO Days face-to-face meetingA detailed 32 pages step-by-step documentation on creating a LO was developedkey to consistency in the construction of the LOsA common D2L course is used for creationKey to ensure common look and feel

D2LLO Repositories & Dissemination Use D2L as a central repository for LOs & documentationCreated a D2L course site at UWS as a testing ground A website was designed to organize the LOs for easy access and distribution

Project TimelineJune 2003 - SCO Days F2F team meeting to develop prototypeJune-August 2003 refine prototype and documentationF2F meeting to work through LO development processAugust January LOs created and deposited into D2L course site and external website January 2004 Retreat to finish productionMarch June 2004 - Edit and final polishProofreading and editing to flush out inconsistencyModification and cleanup

Using the D2LLO Learning Objects

Incorporated into various training materialDirectly linked to the D2LLO repository websitePresented as an organized training resource inside D2LEmbedded into the HELP tool in D2L

Anatomy of a Learning Object

Anatomy of a Learning Object - behind the scenesDetailed specification sheetFile naming conventionsTypeface, sizes, use of stylesUse of colors, logoConsistent wording and level of detail in captionsSCORM conformant

Tools for CreationRoboDemo - (now Macromedia)Screen captures, animation export, text/image exportWord - (Microsoft Office)Editing text/image documentDreamweaver (Macromedia)Index file, SCORM runtime wrapper, imsmanifestWinZip (or OS provided)Packaging for import into D2L

Using RoboDemoScreen capture softwareScreenshotsMouse movements and clicksCaptionsFlash (.swf) outputText/image output (Word)

Using Dreamweaver MXIndex page

SCORM Runtime Wrapper(extension)

IMS ManifestEdit XML file directly in DreamweaverProject documentation guidelines

Packaging, ImportingCompressed to Zip format

Import into D2L, unpackaged as a content topic with title

Use D2L files area as repository

Tool/File Integration

Why this Format?FlexibilitySuit multiple learning stylesGreater accessibility of formats to audience

Our Challenges The steps involved in the creation of each LO are rather complex Each participant faces an overload of duties, including conversion of previous CMS to D2L on each campusD2L released new version and major patches during the year Participants need to relearn the platform LOs need to be modified

Accomplishments Created 150 LOs on 5 major functional areas for faculty trainingLearned new skills on the tools and understanding of LO and SCOsThe LOs was a welcome training supplement within the UW campuses and other institutionsThis LO concept is adopted by the vendor as a model for building its own learning community resources

Lessons LearnedThe project was too labor intensive for the already overloaded instructional technologists started with 12 participants, only 6 active members left Incentive can keep interestStipend help to sustain the groupKeeping consistency and organization of an end-product created by a diverse group of authors is not trivial

D2LLO - Editing PhaseSingle editor (multiple authors)Check for consistencyStylesCaption wording

Next Steps

Phase 2 learning objects for student tasksUpdates as new versions are releasedSCORM 2004 Tracking & Sequencing Updates to documentation as SCORM changesHow do we deal with the next phase?Hire studentsCollaborate with other institutionsContinue with the SWAT team approachHow do we evaluate and assess the usage of these LOs ?

The Active People in D2LLOCheryl Diermyer WhitewaterPat Fellows UW-Colleges (co-ordinator)Cid Freitag MadisonMolly Immendorf ExtensionKathy Konicek MadisonSherri Post Stout (documentation)Nicholle Stone Stout (technical testing)Simone Vuong UW-Colleges (editor)Lorna Wong Whitewater (coordinator, website manager)

A Collaborative LTDC group at UW System campuses

More ExamplesHow to add a link in the NavBar How to Add a Discussion TopicAdding Feedback to students in the DropboxSetting up Quiz Layout & questions

Questions?

Contact usLorna Wong wongl@uww.eduNicholle Stone stonen@uwstout.edu

D2LLO website- http://www.uww.edu/d2l/This presentation will be available at:http://ltc.uww.edu/merlot/d2llo.ppt

Detailed specification sheetFile naming conventionsTypeface, sizes, use of stylesUse of colors, logoConsistent wording and level of detail in captionsSCORM conformant

Should this slide go before the anatomy?I deleted a duplicate slide from the original