Learning Objects Category Archive
Mon, Feb 16, 2004
At Loggerheads: The Canada-U.S. Softwood Lumber Dispute
A multimedia timeline of the lumber dispute between the U.S. and Canada is provided by the CBC as part of their Archives Timeline project. A Flash-based timeline provides links to audio and video content, as well as text. The windows media player is required for viewing. A teachers section provides sample activities, including a webquest outline. As described on the site:
“Canada and the United States are the world’s largest trading partners, but there’s one thing they’ve never agreed on: softwood lumber. The dispute dates back hundreds of years, but in the 1980s it turned nasty. The U.S. has slapped billions of dollars of fines on Canadian wood, jeopardizing thousands of jobs. The dispute raises serious questions about trade, sovereignty, and the real nature of Canada-U.S. relations.”
Burnt Church Lobster Fishing Dispute Audio Archive
CBC Radio program “As It Happens” has an online archive of their broadcasts relating to the Lobster Fishing dispute that came to a head in Burnt Church, Nova Scotia in 2000.
Citizen X - BBCi online learning
The Citizen X website offers a co-ordinated package of online, student-centered resources based on the Citizenship National Curriculum for England. It uses animations, photostories, and interactive activities to address nine topics:
1. Rights and Responsibilities
2. Identity
3. Conflict
4. Local Democracy
5. Community Action
6. Government and Parliament
7. Crime
8. Global Community
9. EU, UN and Commonwealth
The website is divided into 4 main areas - Being a Citizen, Local Citizen, National Citizen and Global Citizen. The nine topics can be found in each of these sections and will inform the user about areas of a citizen’s life.
Fri, Feb 13, 2004
Goodwill Virtual Learning Community - Training for Workplace Conflict Prevention
The Getting Along at Work module at the Goodwill Virtual Community training website provides a broad overview of conflict resolution skills for the workplace, using flash with audio to engage the user. The multi-part lessons cover Good Relationships; Respect; Social Boundaries; Communication Skills; and Conflict Management. Exercises include quizes to check for comprehension. Simple and clean interface, albiet poor use of the word “click” in place of “hover over”.
Fri, Jan 23, 2004
Dr. David Merrill on Effective Instruction - RealAudio Video
This 20 minute video presentation on Effective Instruction is a guest lecture given by David Merrill, Founder and director of the Division of Instructional Research, Development and Evaluation at Brigham Young University and author of 12 books on instruction and instructional technology. He presents a brief but cogent overview of principles of good instruction. From the website, “Over the years I have had the opportunity to evaluate hundreds of instructional products. An amazing number of these are surprisingly ineffective and some do not teach at all. ..”
Brokering Peace - Flash Summary of Camp David Peace Accord Process
The PBS Documentary on Jimmy Carter includes a nice summary of the Camp David peace process, presented in a Flash interactive module entitled “Brokering Peace”. The site invites you to “see the Camp David negotiations through the eyes of the participants, and witness Carter’s role in brokering peace.”
Univ of Georgia Learning Team Multimedia “Games” for Students
A group known as the Learning Team at the University of Georgia have produced a series of multimedia (Shockwave and Realplayer) games designed to orient and instruct college students on topics of importance.
The current collection includes:
Test Anxiety in Action! (on Study Skills)
A Very Unusual Study Session - Sally’s Dilemma (on Academic Honesty)
Who says college isn’t a game?! (on Getting Oriented to Campus)
Binge Drinking Friend (on Alcohol Abuse)
Academic Advising Meets Disco Fever! (on Planning Ahead)
Sex in the City - or should we say -ÜSex on the Campus! (on Safe Sex)
They are available for play over the web or can be downloaded in alternate formats for desktop play.
Mon, Jan 12, 2004
Out on a Limb: a Guide to Getting Along - Conflict Resolution Website for Kids (uses Flash)
This flash-based learning activity is designed to help teach youth how to better manage conflicts and challenges they face on a daily basis. The activities of Out on a Limb website are designed primarily for third graders, but can be used to entertain and educate youth from the second and fourth grades as well. It is part of a collection of online learning tools from the University of Illinois Extension office Urban Programs Resource Network. More examples of their youth offerings are available as well. The design is simple but appealing for kids, and it is available in Spanish as well as English. What would a similar one look like for adults, I wonder?
Sun, Jan 11, 2004
Online Rubric Building Tool
Rubrics are scales that provide students with a clear explanation of what is expected in an assignment or activity, and it thus helps them choose their own level of excellence knowing what is considered first rate by the instructor. An online tool called the RubiStar provides a quick way to access premade Rubrics that you can then modify to suit your particular circumstance.
Wed, Dec 31, 2003
Flash Primer on Conflict Resolution
This flash-based introduction to core conflict resolution concepts provides an overview of key conflict resolution ideas. It is sponsored by the Foundation for Prevention and Early Resolution of Conflicts. You can click “skip introduction” if you want to bypass author Ted Kheel’s self-promoting intro.
Thu, Dec 11, 2003
The Copyright Webquest
The Copyright Webquest is an online Webquest by Miguel Guhlin exploring issues of copyright in an educational context. The 4 participant roles are the Copyright Author, the School Administrator, the Librarian, and the Technophile.
Flash-based Negotiation Training Demo (full version requires fee)
This online flash-based course is hosted by the Canadian Stitt Feld Handy Group and is made up of 8 modules, 7 of which are simulated negotiations that you conduct with animated computer characters. The characters make statements, ask questions, use difficult tactics, express strong emotions, and otherwise create difficulties for the participant.
You have to react to what the character says, answer questions, ask other questions, and try to negotiate the best deal. If you do not negotiate the best deal, you are told why, and asked to try again. If you get stuck, a “help feature” points you in the right direction.
The free demonstration module involves the selling of a set of art prints.
Mon, Dec 01, 2003
The Pyramid of Hate Exercise
The Pyramid of Hate Exercise is a Flash-based learning object built by the Shoah Foundation and the Anti-Defamation League when they joined Court TV to bring a classroom program for students online. It’s goal is to teach them about the effects and consequences of bigotry and intolerance. The program draws on the Pyramid of Hate, a curricular tool developed by the ADL for its A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Institute, and first-person testimonies from the Shoah Foundation’s visual history archive. It was featured as part of a United Nations webcast observing the International Day for Tolerance on November 17.
Wed, Nov 19, 2003
Starter Page for Finding Learning Objects
Brian Lamb at UBC has built a starter page for finding learning objects. As he describes it, you’ll find “a selection of reasonably well-stocked repositories and resource collections. If you wish to incorporate previously developed (and usually freely available) resources into your teaching or learning, or if you are looking for ideas and interested in what’s available, the collections below may be of interest.”
Mon, Nov 17, 2003
e-book - Democracy and Deep-Rooted Conflict: Options for Negotiators
The free online e-book Democracy and Deep-Rooted Conflict: Options for Negotiators is edited by Peter Harris and Ben Reilly with a Foreword by Kofi A. Annan. 
The book is designed to address the “dearth of practical advice for policy-makers on how to design and implement democratic levers that can make peace endure. Conflict is a normal part of any healthy society, but a great deal of attention has been focused in recent years on how to prevent conflict, and less on finding peaceful methods of conflict management. In particular, there needs to be more attention given to the type of political choices that those negotiating an end to a period of violent conflict have to make to rebuild their country, and how they can build an enduring democracy - the only sustainable form of government - from the ashes of conflict.” The e-book is published by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA).