A learning object is an interactive web-based tool that supports learning by enhancing, amplifying, and guiding the cognitive processes of a learner. To date, no formal research has been done on the use of learning objects in secondary school science classrooms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of learning objects developed for high school students in areas of biology, chemistry, or physics. The evaluation metric used to assess the benefits and quality of learning objects was theoretically sound, reliable, and partially validated. Two thirds of the students stated they benefited from using the learning object. Teachers confirmed that learning objects were beneficial to student learning and that they would use them again. Students benefited more if they were comfortable with computers, the content was perceived as being useful, instructions were clear, and the theme was fun or motivating. Students appreciated the motivating, hands-on, and visual qualities of the learning objects most. Computer comfort and learning object type, but not gender, were significantly related to learning object quality and benefit.

The study compared the effects of Learning Objects (LOs) within different applications; in classroom and in extracurricular activities. So in this study, firstly a Learning Object Repository (LOR) has been designed in parallel with 9th grade school mathematics curriculum. One of the two treatment groups was named as "classroom group" (n=24) used LOs with the guidance of the teacher during lessons in a computer lab, another group named as "project group" (n=26) used LOs at home with the aim of preparing projects and assignments. Students in both groups used LOs during 11 weeks. A pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental design was used. Test results are compared in different learning domains (sets, numbers, relations and functions). In addition the interviews with the teacher and the observations inside the class were taken into account for revealing the reasons about the change on academic achievements. The results of the study about students' academic achie...

Very few studies have systematically evaluated the effect of learning objects in secondary school classrooms. The vast majority of studies have focused on higher education. The current study examined the impact of learning objects from the perspective of 850 students and 27 teachers (50 classrooms) of science, mathematics, or social science. The results suggest that teachers typically spend 1 to 2 h finding and preparing for learning object based lesson plans that focus on the review of previous concepts. Both teachers and students are positive about the learning benefits, quality, and engagement value of learning objects, although teachers are more positive than students. Student performance increased significantly – almost 30% – when learning objects were used in conjunction with a variety of teaching strategies. It is reasonable to conclude that learning objects are a viable teaching tool in a secondary school environment.

Reusable Learning Object technology offers K-12 teachers and students the opportunity to access resources that can be used and reused in classroom teaching and learning environments. A support tool for teachers, QuickScience™, was developed to help teachers and students improve performance in science standards; resources in QuickScience™ are built upon RLO technologies. Six types of RLOs, including five types of instructional resources aligned to Bloom’s taxonomy, are used by teachers to help students improve their performance in science. QuickScience™ offers teachers a model for improving performance, including steps of diagnose, plan, teach, and assess.

The current study offers a comprehensive, systematic analysis of learning objects used in secondary school science classrooms. Five reliable and valid measures were used to examine the effectiveness of learning objects for 503 students and 15 teachers in 27 science classrooms. The results suggest that teachers typically spend 1-2 hours finding learning objects and preparing lessons that often focus on the review of previous material. both teachers and students are positive about the learning benefits, quality, and engagement value of learning objects, although teachers are more positive than students. student performance increased significantly, almost 40%, when learning objects were used in conjunction with a variety of teaching strategies including brief introductions, letting students work on their own, and providing guiding handouts. it is reasonable to conclude that science-based learning objects are effective teaching tools in the secondary school environment. a review of the literature on the use of technology in secondary school science classrooms (Kay & Knaack, 2007d) indicates that computers can be used to improve attitudes and learning performance; however, there is limited research on the use of web-based tools. a learning object defined as an " interactive web-based tool designed to enhance, amplify and guide learning, " is a readily accessible, easy-to-learn, concept-focussed tool that is a promising alternative for teachers of science. in theory, good learning objects a require students to construct and manipulate information, provide rich feedback and interactive illustrations, help students understand abstract

Previous research on the development of learning objects have three notable characteristics: a focus on either technical or learning features, but not both, a target audience consisting exclusively of higher education students, and the absence of formal evaluation. This study provides a detailed description and formal evaluation of a multi-component model used to develop five learning objects for secondary school students. Overall, two thirds of the students reported that the learning objects were beneficial, citing a motivating theme, interactivity, and visual qualities as the most important features. However, almost 60% of all students were critical about the learning object quality. Clarity of instructions, help functions and organization/layout presented the most problems. While the development model used in the study emphasized both technical and learning components, the latter was far more important to teachers and students. Key steps that appeared to be beneficial in the development process included a collaborative team approach, understanding the learner, a focus on clear instruction and organization, and using a comprehensive, theoretically supported evaluation metric to examine the quality and benefits of learning objects.