ABSTRACT
Before considering the details of granularization it is necessary to establish a working definition of a ‘learning object’. Many definitions are already in use but one of the most general is that of the IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee, which defines a ‘learning object’ as being ‘any entity, digital or nondigital, that may be used for learning, education or training’ (IEEE, 2002). This has been refined by others such as Wiley who describes a learning object as being ‘any digital resource that can be reused to support learning’ (Wiley, 2000) and by Koper (2001) who states that ‘A fundamental idea is that a learning object can stand on its own and may be reused’. The notion of reusability is regularly associated with learning objects.
