Learning from research

Digitalising learning in tertiary settings

Abstract

The current educational climate is highly competitive, both for funding, and student enrolments. Tertiary institutions are looking for new ways to attract student enrolments and there is a high expectation among students for learning to be digitalised. Research has concluded that Learning Objects (LOs) are effective motivators and help to engage learners with content. It has also been suggested that LOs are most effective when incorporated in a blend of traditional and digital instructional methods.

Tertiary institutions are well positioned to incorporate LOs within existing units, thereby capitalising on the benefits such instructional tools offer by building on the more traditional methods pervasive within the field. This poster will present the findings from a school- based project conducted in Queensland, Australia which trialed LOs with middle-school secondary science students. The results from the study will be applied to the tertiary settings and it will suggest that LOs present as a useful approach for learners in tertiary settings.