An easy to use open source authoring tool to create effective and reusable learning objects

Abstract

Authoring tools play a crucial role in the development of learning content facilitating the creation of Learning Objects. However, not much work has been done in order to determine if educators actually can use these tools to create effective and reusable Learning Objects in an easy way. This paper address this issue by presenting and evaluating an open source authoring tool called ViSH Editor. Three factors were evaluated: the usability and user acceptance of the authoring tool, the quality and learning effectiveness of the created Learning Objects, and the reusability of these resources. Usability was evaluated through a lab test and the user acceptance with a survey among 180 users. Quality evaluation was conducted using LORI (Learning Object Review Instrument). The learning effectiveness was evaluated through learner surveys and test scores. Finally, reusability was evaluated by using the LORI instrument, by measuring metadata quality using a set of metrics, and by a quantitative analysis of reuse. Results show that ViSH Editor is an authoring tool capable of allowing educators to create effective and reusable Learning Objects in an easy way.