Learning method objects for knowledge‐driven environments

Interactivity is crucial for the attractiveness of eLearning content. The complexities of these interactions have continually increased with the introduction of virtual reality visualisations and animated learning agents. However, the trend to streamline and standardise the content production for eLearning according to standards like Extensible Markup Language [XML]1 and Shareable Content Reference Model [SCORM]2 as well as the need to maintain these abstractions especially in Knowledge‐Based Environments (FitzGerald and Lester 1997) has rather been decreasing the average level of interactivity in eLearning recently. The development of presentation layers with sufficient dynamic flexibility often failed. Facing this problem, the authors have developed an object‐based implementation approach serving the display of standard cognitive learning interactions as well as advanced dialogue and Virtual Reality‐based learning methods. After implementing the approach in a variety of large‐scale publishing projects we report on the concept and our experience in these projects.