A classification scheme for learner-computer interaction

Efforts are underway to develop learning resource repositories to allow reuse of learning resources. However, a barrier to the effective reuse of such resources is the lack of ability to easily locate resources appropriate for a particular learning situation within these repositories. Various metadata standards have been proposed to allow the characteristics of learning resources to be described and consequently to allow effective searching. However, it is generally accepted that these standards do not provide enough detail about the pedagogical aspects of the way in which a particular learning object is intended to be used. It is argued in this paper that the learner computer interactions potentially facilitated by the resource are an important element of a pedagogical description. Consequently, this paper proposes a classification scheme for learner computer interaction, suitable for inclusion within learning objects standards. The classification scheme includes three dimensions: cognitive task, input technique and system response.