Collaborative Development of Educational Modules - E-Infrastructures and Technologies for Lifelong Learning - page 181

self-reflection in order for learners to determine
if their learning objectives have been achieved.
Aiming at applying the principles of objectivist
and constructivist design, Farrell & Carr (2007)
proposed the Learning Object Design Model. In
short, the model implements the strengths of the
ADDIE, CLE and HDM models by integrating
ADDIE's comprehensive and systematic approach
to design, CLE's focus on relevant and engaging
problem solving, and HDM's provision for learner
control and design guidance.
LODAS (Learning Object Design and Se-
quencing Theory) (Wiley, 2001) addresses the
issues of granularity (scope and design) and
sequencing (combination) for developing learn-
ing objects. LODAS was designed to support the
instructional use of learning objects and facilitate
a significant amount of reusability across objects.
By combining a number of existing instructional
design theories, including Elaboration Theory
(Reigeluth, 1999), Work Model Synthesis (Gib-
bons et al., 1995), Domain Theory (Wiley, 2001),
and the Four-Component Instructional Design
model (Van Merriënboer, 1997), LODAS provides
taxonomy and design guidance for different types
of learning objects. Wiley's proposal is composed
of six steps (Wiley, 2001):

the practice and instruction necessary for
each task.
4. Learning object selection or design : In
this step the designer needs to: (a) review
preexisting learning objects available in
metadata repositories; and (b) create new
learning objects.
5. Learning object sequencing : In this step the
designer needs to sequence educational re-
sources based on their cognitive complexity.
6. Loop back for quality improvement : In this
step the designer has finished the instruc-
tional design and the development of learning
situation and then he/she starts a process of
quality improvement, which should become
an ongoing activity. Formative and summa-
tive evaluations can be developed to ensure
quality improvement.

At this point, the LODAS cycle is completed
and it is up to the instructor to initiate design or
instructional strategies that either enhance the
instruction or strengthen weaknesses in the initial
program design.
By analyzing the models of instructional design
described in this section, we can notice that all of
them address the fundamental (primary) activities
related to the development of educational products.
However, when applying a specific instructional
model in the practice, many other relevant ac-
tivities must be considered as complement to
the fundamental ones. Supporting activities (e.g.
Configuration Management , Documentation )
and organizational activities (e.g. Coordination ,
Communication , Infrastructure ) are examples of
activities that should take place when developing
an educational product.
Besides that, despite of the several models of
instructional design, no process for structuring
the activities and tasks to be performed during
the development of educational products has
been defined so far. Indeed, as important as the
selection of the appropriate model of instructional
design is the definition of the adequate supporting

1. Preliminary activities : In this step the de-
signer needs to determine the appropriate-
ness of using the LODAS for achieving the
organization or course goals.
2. Content analysis and synthesis : In this step
the designer needs to: (a) identify the neces-
sary cognitive skills to achieve the overall
goal of instruction; (b) break larger tasks into
their associated smaller components, getting
simpler as the decomposition continues until
no more decomposition is possible; and (c)
synthesize work models, i.e., the constitu-
ent skills are recombined into activities that
people perform in the real world.
3. Design practice and information presenta-
tion : In this step the designer needs to identify