A Taste of MERLOT

Online Resources to Enhance EducationTim Tirrell

Montana State University Billings

Tim Tirrell

ChaCha.com

Problem: “Connecting to new students”

COURSE DEVELOPMENTSTARTED IN 2000

• One Course (Instructor Specific)

• Text Dependent

• Not Portable or Re-usable

• Unknown Shelf Life Quality Control Copyright Clearances ADA Compliancy Scalability Update & Maintenance Ownership/ Intellectual Property

NEXT GENERATION: Course Design

•

Modular structure

Competencies Learning activities

Assessment options

Instructional Building Blocks……

What is a Learning Object?

• “Content Objects”• “Knowledge Objects”• “Components of Instructional ”• “Pedagogical Documents”• “Online Materials”• “Virtual Apparatus”• “Learning Materials vs. Teaching Materials”

REUSABLE GRANULAR DIGITAL

What is MERLOT?

M ultimedia E ducational R esource forL earning andO nline T eaching

WWW.MERLOT.ORG

MERLOT:

A free & open community for all who use, share, advise & evaluate online teaching & learning materials since 1997- 59,000 members growing at 1,100+ per month

A free digital library of online teaching and learning materials that is open for all to use

- 19,000+ materials across disciplines contributed by members

A consortium of higher education institutions, professional societies, digital libraries, corporations, and other organizations supporting educational improvement through technology

MERLOT’s Higher Ed System Partners

• California Comm. Colleges

• California State University System

• CLOE/ Ontario Canada Higher Ed Cooperative

• Louisiana Board of Regents

• Minnesota State U and Colleges

• Okla. State Regents for Higher Education

• State Univ. of New York • Tennessee Board of

Regents• Univ. of Georgia System• Univ. of North Carolina

System• University of Michigan• University of Wisconsin• Virginia Comm. College

System

MERLOT’s Higher Ed Campus Partners

•Cornell University

•Indiana State University

•Troy University

•St. Petersburg College, FL

•Queens College, CUNY

•University of North Dakota

•Montana State University – Billings

•Utah State University

Structure of MERLOT

• Staff (Cal State University)• Project Directors

– Represent Partners– Set direction of MERLOT

• Editors of Disciplines – Communities– Peer Review

• Editorial Board Members – Peer Review– MERLOT Projects

• Volunteers

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Usage Metrics:

Average 2004 July-Dec

2005 July-Dec

2006 July-Dec

2007 July-Dec

Total Visits per month

30,110 46,355 55,725 108,182

Over 1 Million visits per year

Types of Learning Materials

• Simulations• Animations• Tutorials• Drill & Practice• Lecture

• Quiz/Test• Collections• Reference

Materials• Learning

Assignments

How do we Learn?

• Active learners need to try things out.• Reflective learners needs to think first,

than try them out.• Sensing learners like solving

problems by well-established methods and dislike complications and surprises.

• Intuitive learners often prefer discovering possibilities and relationships.

Buffet Analogy"You can think about how people present food to a group," says Dennis K. Pearl, a professor of statistics at Ohio State who is developing the course. "You can make the best roast beef that you can, but a vegetarian is not going to have a good meal."Chronicle of Higher Education, March 2002, “Hybrid Teaching Seeks to End the Divide Between Traditional and Online Instruction.“ by Jeffrey Young

Incorporating Learning Objects

• More Examples• Into Lecture• Into Desire2Learn• Into Assignments• Into Hands-on Activities

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• Go To MERLOT

MERLOT Services for Everyone

• Easy and free access to content for teachers and learners

• Enable custom reuse of free content into locally designed curriculum

• Create personal collections for local priorities

• Find what “people like you” recommend and use

• Get connected with others• Contribute and share your expertise• Get recognition for your contributions

Serving MERLOT at MSU Billings

• Campus Partner• Sponsor 3 faculty• Access to resources

– “the reserves”– Metrics

• Set the Course

QUESTIONS