Investigating the factors that influence the use of digital learning resources in the K-12 educational context

Australian and New Zealand governments have made a significant investment in the establishment of an on-line repository that will make digital learning resources, also called learning objects, available to teachers in the K-12 sector. The focus of this, and similar learning object initiatives around the world, has been on content development and delivery. Much of the current learning object research has been concerned with resolving the technical issues to support these processes, with little attention paid to pedagogical and practical issues that might influence learning object use. This paper argues for research to address this gap and reports on a study investigating the factors that influence the use of digital learning resources in the K-12 educational context. The findings of the study are relevant to understanding how learning object approaches can be best conceived of and supported.