Understanding Factors that Influence the Effectiveness of Learning Objects in Secondary School Classrooms

The design, development, reuse, and accessibility of learning objects has been examined in some detail for almost 10 years (Kay & Knaack, 2007c, 2007d), however, research on the effectiveness of learning objects is limited (Kay & Knaack, 2005; Nurmi & Jaakkola, 2006a, 2006b, Sosteric & Hesemeirer, 2004), particularly in the K-12 environment. Until recently, learning objects were solely used in higher education (Haughey & Muirhead, 2005; Kay & Knaack, 2005, 2007c). The purpose of the current chapter is to examine factors that influence the effectiveness of learning objects in secondary school classrooms. These factors will include learning object qualities, gender, self-efficacy, grade, subject area, and teaching strategies.

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