The trouble with learning objects

Object-oriented instructional design (OOID) offers the promise of universal access to online instructional materials, increased productivity among trainers and educators, and solutions for individualizing learning. However, it is unclear whether it can fulfill these promises to the degree many envision. As with every new instructional technology, it is easy to become overoptimistic about learning objects, but problems of education are always more complex than technology alone can solve. In this article, I take a critical look at the proposed benefits of learning objects described in the published literature, particularly scalability andadaptability. I also look at both the difficulties in defining the term learningobject and the limitations of metaphors used to describe the concept, and concludes with propositions for learning object usage. The title of this article is a reference to the popular Star Trek episode, “The Trouble with Tribbles” (Gerrold, 1967). In that episode, one of the crew of theEnterprise adopts a cute, furry, and apparently harmless alien creature for a pet, only to find that it reproduces with a fury. Soon the population of tribbles outstrips the resources of the ship, floods its compartments, and threatens the crew's mission, as well as their lives. This was chosen to suggest that while object-oriented instructional design holds tremendous promise on many levels, it also has potential dangers. Instructional designers need to carefully study these creatures called, learning objects before adopting them so readily, lest they find themselves up to their ears in ineffective education and training endeavors. and a doctoral student in Educational Leadership and Innovation at the University of Colorado at Denver.