Technical note on Reusable Learning Objects (LOs)
Aim: convert the Learning Objects (LOs) in the source E-textbook on Research, which was designed for postgraduates, to be a course for Continuing Professional Education [
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_development].
The (LOs) in the source E-textbook are LEVEL3 headings and their contents. {In "old man's terms" each is a HTML file with one heading!} [
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_object]
The following global changes were necessary to accommodate the recent audience analysis (see previous "Jannie de Veldt" persona analysis).
beginning researcher --> professional
thesis-theme --> research (-) theme
thesis-book --> research report
paper-chapters --> sections (or chapter)
The LOs forming the chapter on "Managing your (research) supervisor" were deleted as they were deemed inappropriate for the new audience. A new LO was written and inserted called "Start a research group". These steps were "clean" (mechanistic). However, the concept of a "pure" Learning Object (LO) that can be mechanistically reused is still a mirage. The whole source file had to be read and every sentence inspected for necessary changes. For example, one of 4 choices had to be made every time the word "supervisor" was encountered in the source:
1. Delete the LO (if inappropriate to the audience)
2. "supervisor" --> "sponsor" if it related to receiving financial support
3. "supervisor" --> "colleague" if it related to receiving general advice
4. "supervisor" --> "mentor" if it related to general direction and advice about the specific research.
This "dirty" conversion actually revealed a shortcoming in the source. The original author {little me!} should have realised that for clarity, English needs some neologisms for the different roles, industrial or research supervisor:
1. PhysicalSupervisor (in the sense of a non-research supervisor, US usage)
2. FinancialSponsor (in the sense of the research supervisor helping to find grants and funding)
3. AdvisorSupervisor (in the sense of giving general advice when stuck about research in general and the specific research project)
4. MentorSupervisor (in the sense of giving wise advice, and deadline reminders)
5. CollegialSupervisor (in the sense of providing moral, ethical and personal support).
These neologisms will be kept and fed into the next edition of the source. The good thing is that small and medium errors in the source were also noted, and kept for the next edition.
Quote of the week: Evans, M., (1998) Writing for publication "Nobody goes into a kitchen to cook a meal without knowing something about the ingredients and the recipes that they are going to cook. Indeed, most people take lessons first. Why, then, do people think that they can just sit down and write a perfect paper? Good scientific writing is just as hard as the research that it is trying to describe. It needs revising again and again; it needs criticism by someone unfamiliar with the subject; but above all it needs clarity and directness from you the author. Not only must the paper be understandable. It must be impossible to misunderstand it."
