Learning Object Initiative Report by Schalk Louw

Open Educational Resources

University of Manitoba

The New Media Consortium:

Learning Objects Initiative & New Collaborations Initiative

International not-for-profit consortium of learning-focused organizations

Exploration and use of new media and new technologies.

The NMC boasts hundreds of members including: colleges and universities, museums, research centres and forward thinking companies.

15 Year record of developing applications of emerging technologies for learning, research, and creative inquiry.

Authors the world renowned Horizon Report

The New Media Consortium (NMC)

Identify areas of potential impact in teaching, learning, and creative inquiry.

Guided by unanswered question of broad application to the NMC community.

Employ 4 strategies to identify the relevant issues and find ways to address them:

Convene people around ideas Catalyze dialog and discussionBuild community and engage peopleContribute to the field

NMC Initiatives and Projects

Major Initiatives are supported by one or more of these strategies.

Technology in Higher Education is always changing.

As new ideas become standard practise, older initiatives that investigated them are retired.

1 Retired Initiative of the NMC: Learning Objects Initiative

1 Core Initiative of the NMC: New Collaborations Initiative.

NMC Initiatives and Projects

Question: Are there systemic and more efficient solutions that can make creating effective web-based learning easier?

NMC’s Answer: The Learning Objects InitiativeFocused on stimulating and supporting the

authoring of learning objects.At the time software to house the learning objects

(repositories) was well established.Little work had been done on the authoring of

learning objects. It was difficult to author effective, engaging

standards-compliant learning objects.

Learning Objects Initiative (Retired)

Focus of initiative: encourage the development of tools and techniques that would make it easy to create high-quality, standards-compliant learning objects.

Learning Objects Initiative (Retired)

Question: How can we leverage the work of learning organizations outside our usual spheres to inform and enhance our own work and reach new audiences?

NMC’s Answer: The New Collaborations Initiative.Cross-sector idea sharing to stimulate new projects,

new partnerships, and new ways of thinking.The NMC seeks to leverage the work of affiliate

organizations with their own to achieve the above mentioned goal.

Formal linkages: ECAR (EDUCAUSE initiative), MERLOT and CATS.

New Collaborations Initiative.

NMC’s most impactful projects forms part of this Initiative: Pachyderm Project, Marcus Digital Arts Education Project & The Steve In Action Project

New Collaborations Initiative.

Revenue stream: Generated by hundreds of affiliate members

Sustainability of NMC Initiatives and Projects

Measureable goals and objectives are set by asking questions relevant the NMC community.

Progress of these Initiatives and Projects are also monitored regularly by the cyclical flow of the NMC’s 4 strategies for fulfilling goals.

Initiatives and Projects are retired when the information generated become standard practise.

From these retired Initiatives and Projects new ones can evolve and shape different and new directions of inquiry.

Sustainability of NMC Initiatives and Projects

The NMC has hundreds of affiliates, initiatives and projects.

For further inquiry please visit: http://www.nmc.org

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