A Taste of MERLOT Online Resources to Enhance Education Tim Tirrell Montana State University Billings

Tim Tirrell

Problem: “Connecting to new students”

COURSE DEVELOPMENT STARTED 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

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” REUSABLEGRANULARDIGITAL

What is MERLOT? M M ultimedia E E ducational R R esource for L L earning and O O nline T T eaching

MERLOT: A free & open community for all who use, share, advise & evaluate online teaching & learning materials since ,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

13 Usage Metrics: Average 2004 July-Dec 2005 July-Dec 2006 July-Dec 2007 July- Dec Total Visits per month 30,11046,35555,725108,182 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