LEARNING OBJECTS

I began looking into some of the digital learning objects and came across one that i have a personal interest in, Edheads Virtual knee surgery. I have been advised that in about 10 years time i will need a new knee joint. Of course i have a personal interest in how they go about this. The best part about this resource is that it is interactive, which places you as 'the doctor'. I found that performing the operation and choosing the correct instruments enabled me, as a learner, to understand the process. If this process was explained to me by a doctor, i would soon be lost. A very basic 'virtual operation' but a great way to learn through electronic interaction.
I can really see this type of learning object being used in the higher year levels, probably in small collaborative groups (2-3 students). In the Prep classroom last year the students used digital learning objects to learn letters and words which begin with those letters. The visuals of the objects assisted the students in making connections with the letters and words, constructing knowledge into their personal schema.
When deciding to use a digital learning object, i would recommend the LM to trial it first before any student use.
The advantage they have as a resource is that students can use them at their own pace, they let you know incorrect responses instantly and in many circumstances they are unable to advance until the correct choice is made. In this way, students build their knowledge and understanding on correct responses without making assumptions that they were correct in their earlier thought processes, when in fact they may have been.

In the article Preparing Teachers To Use Learning Objects (2002), Wiley defines a learning object as "any digital resource that can be reused to support learning". The authors point out that there are myriad reasons for teachers to encourage their students to use computers in conjunction with learning objects.

I managed to find some more for early years. Try number train, and animal search. Check out more learning objects for a variety of year levels and KLA's.

References
The Learning federation retrieved from http://www.thelearningfederation.edu.au/for_teachers/sample_curriculum_content/tm_-_early_years.html

Edheads retrieved from http://edheads.org/

Preparing Teachers To Use Learning Objects (2002)
by T. A. Bratina, D Hayes, and S. L. Blumsack