1. RLO’s are good for Health!
Heather Wharrad
Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences

2. What is an RLO?

3. What is an RLO?
+ activity
+assessment
+ links
media assets instructional design
+ interactivity

4. Characteristics of an RLO?
Based on a single learning objective
Defined educational need
No external dependencies
Context is minimised
Labelled with metadata
Can be packaged and delivered over a
range of platforms

5. Examples
Glove Use
Advanced referencing with modified Harvard
Plasma Proteins
Meta-analysis

6. Design principles

7. EASA Finalist 2004 - Design of learning objects
Engage students with familiar
everyday analogies

8. Active student learning…..

9. Visual Learning

10. Scaffold student learning

11. Learner preferences

12. Rationale for Use

13. The University of Nottingham
School of Nursing

14. Student Profile

15. Life Before:
R L s

16. CAL Packages:

17. Students’ evaluations (CAL)
 ‘Can do it at own pace and in your own time- can go
back if unclear about anything, good for revision.’(cohort
1997)
 ‘CAL good presentation as lectures took a long time and
concentration is lost.’(cohort 1995)
 ‘It’s hard staring at a screen for so long’(cohort 1997)
 ‘CAL packages in moderation are good because you
have to find the answers yourself.’(cohort 1997)
(Student quotes from Wharrad et al 2000)

18. Early lessons (lecturers)
 Developing large packages – time, cost, updating
 Wanted to use some sections but not all
 Based on areas of student
difficulty
 Offer ‘added value’

19. Nurse Prescribing Course -
A Case Study

20. Nurse Prescribing Course -
- developed RLOs incorporating high quality graphics
and audio to help students understand core
pharmacology concepts
“We needed more time on each aspect [of
Pharmacology] until factors were absorbed
and understood!!”
“I have always struggled with ‘biology’ etc so
its not the lecturers’ fault that I do not
understand the sessions. I will revise at my
own pace.”

21. Pharmacology RLOs
Exploring the synapse
First pass metabolism
Understanding half life
Understanding bioavailability
The lock & key hypothesis
Excretion of drugs in the kidney
Drug metabolism in the liver
Agonists and antagonists
Drugs acting at the synapse
Plasma proteins in drug binding

22. Understanding First pass metabolism
Very w ell
w ell
Neither w ell nor bad
Badly
Count
20
10
0
COHORT
Cohort1(no RLO)
Cohort 2 (RLO)
Cohort 3 (RLO)
Students perceived understanding of pharmacology
concepts on a nurse prescribing course.

23. Strengths
Pedagogically
Led
Development
Process
Use and
Reuse
LO
economies
Evaluation

24. Centre of Excellence in
Teaching and Learning
For:
Reusable Learning Objects
http:www.rlo-cetl.ac.uk

25. The RLO-CETL is concerned with:
AAdvancing the pedagogical design of RLOs.
BBuilding an RLO community for reuse.
CConstructing staff development & rewards
DDisseminating the impact of RLOs
EEvaluating RLOs as learning resources
Through an ambitious programme of development,
research and collaboration.

26. EB Practice
Pharmacology
Clinical skills
Study skills
Genetics
Applied Maths
Engineering
Study skills
Sports science
Study skills
Business studies
Languages

27. Community of Use
Miniprojects
Team-orientated
Supported
Workshops
Communication

28. Team work!

29. RLO Development

30. The development process

31. Development Stages -1
Production of a specification
Framing a proposal
Identified Educational needs

32. RLO specification

33. RLO specification

34. Student-review at specification
and production stages
Quality Assurance
Peer-review at specification
and production stages
Technical review by
Media developers
Pedagogical review

35. Storage,use & reuse of RLOs
Packaged Labelled Classified Stored

36. Intralibrary:

37. Summary – reuse and sustainability
RLO
Time
Number of RLOs
Community
Subject areasResearch met hods
Biology
Sciences
Ment al healt h
Paediat rics
Evidence-based pract ice
Social sciences
Healt h promot ion
Et hics