This project will develop tools to support the design, development, discovery, and cost-effective reuse of learning-object based instructional materials that fully support the goals and guidance provided in the ADL Sharable Content Object Reference Model and are informed by empirically derived principles of sound instruction. A design methodology will be demonstrated in Phase I of how meta-data tagging can be used to inform the development of learning objects with instructional design logic while also collecting "maintenance" / "configuration management information that will be crucial in providing "discoverability" and in tracking re-use, as needed for developing indices of return on investment. During the transition to Phase II, we will engage partners from the commercial sector to provide real-world "use cases" that will assess the effectiveness of the design approaches increasing reuse and in improving the quality of instruction. Partners will be selected who either develop different types of instructional product (e.g., training versus education, recreational learning, different target populations) or specify distinct instructional approaches in their corporate strategies, in order to test the designs rigorously. At least one partner will be selected to test the design approach against other applications, such as performance support systems, reference guides and / or IETMs. Industry already has reported reuse on a scale as high as 1000:1 with sharable objects . Efficiencies on such a scale are sure to transform commercial practice. There are other benefits, however, just as important if far more difficult to measure. These include "social return on investment," which is to say, finding ways of making information / instruction available to chronically under-served populations such as students in schools that cannot attract or keep teachers certified in the areas they teach, geographically dispersed learners, home-bound students, or learners in need of real-time interjections of information / instruction. Potential commercial applications include sales to any or all participants in the development of e-learning materials, currently projected to reach $46 billion by 2005. Even fractional improvements in development costs could be very significant
